Plans for a Shandon drive-thru have residents upset

Controversial plans for a drive-thru at a proposed restaurant on Devine Street will go before the city’s zoning panel for a decision Tuesday.

That stretch of Devine Street, not far from Dreher High School, is dotted with shops and other restaurants and runs alongside the Shandon neighborhood. There is no other drive-thru in the area.

“A drive-through would be totally inappropriate for this site,” Helen Foley, who lives on South Harden Street, wrote to the city about the plans. “Also, this new place sets up a problem with parking that this neighborhood does not need.”

The proposed restaurant, Urban Cookhouse, would be 2,875 square feet at 3000 Devine St. in Shandon, said Will Gillespie, the chain’s president and owner. Plans for the restaurant include a drive-thru for call-ahead and pickup orders only, not for drive-up service.

The plans are for a vacant parcel at the southeast corner of Devine Street and Sims Avenue, just across Devine from Incarnation Lutheran Church and across Sims Avenue from Eggs Up Grill.

In September, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals deferred a decision on whether to grant a special exception for the drive-thru facility. The board did not meet in October because of flooding.

More than 40 Shandon residents and business owners wrote to the city before the September meeting to express concerns that the drive-thru would be an eyesore that would hurt the neighborhood’s character and bring unwanted traffic congestion.

“I believe this would be a terrible decision and would be dangerous for drivers on both Devine and Sims as well as pedestrian traffic,” wrote Mary Dell Hayes, who said she has lived on Yale Avenue in Shandon for many years. “The area is already impeded enough by restaurants offering limited parking. To further extend the benefit to another restaurant would tax the area beyond it’s (sic) already strained capacity.”

More than a dozen people wrote in support of the project, some saying they are looking forward to having the restaurant nearby. Since the September meeting, Gillespie said he has met with residents and city staff to help alleviate concerns.

Gillespie said plans have changed to scale back the restaurant’s size, ensure the drive-thru isn’t visible from the intersection of Devine Street and Sims Avenue, add parking spots and save trees on the existing vacant lot.

“We’ve spent a ton of time designing and redesigning this thing to really try to meet everybody’s wishes as best we can,” Gillespie said.

He said he appreciates neighbors’ passion for the area, saying that’s one of the reasons he’s excited about opening a restaurant there.

“Our mission is to improve the areas that we’re operating in,” Gillespie said. “Trust me, our interests are aligned with theirs. We want what’s best for Devine and the greater Shandon area.”

Urban Cookhouse has four locations in Alabama, according to its website. Locations in Sandy Springs, Ga., and in Mount Pleasant are opening soon. The restaurant says it uses the freshest ingredients possible and supports local farmers, according to its website. Its motto is: “Buy local. Eat urban.”

City staff suggested the Board of Zoning Appeals ensure the drive-thru window be used only for pickup of orders and that no exterior menu board or call box be permitted if it grants the request.

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Plans for a Shandon drive-thru have residents upset."