Granville is known as a village that does not accept fast food joints. In fact, zoning rules adopted after Wendy’s and Arby’s opened on the east side of the village along Ohio 16 effectively ban such restaurants.
But with changes in technology and food services developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, village officials say they are embracing the concept of food pickup windows. This could pave the way for a new development just south of the Granville Township fire station at 500 S. Main Street.
On April 19, the Village Council approved a zoning code change to allow businesses with a food pickup window in the Village Gateway District, a corridor of Main Street along River Road south of the bridge over Raccoon Creek. bottom.
What is the difference between the drive-thru window and the pick-up window?
A drive-thru has one or more kiosks, where customers can “peruse a menu, place an order, drive to the teller to pay, and pick up the order at a second teller,” he said recently. Mayor Herb Koehler said in a phone call to interview.
Pickup windows, as defined in April 19 approved languages, allow customers to pre-order online or by phone or app, pay in advance, drive to the window and pick up their order.
Koehler and Darryll Wolnik, the village’s planning and development director, said in a recent conference call that village staff had proposed a new language because of changes in food service and technology. It was partly inspired by a company that owns land on South Main Street and is considering a commercial center that includes a restaurant pick-up window.
Village officials said they had seen conceptual development plans by landowners between the Granville Township Fire Station building and the Cedar & Thread Boutique on 1919 Lancaster Road.
The owner, Mill District LLC, is considering two buildings, five commercial spaces facing Lancaster Road and one commercial space facing River Road. Conceptually, the building is similar to that of the Middleton Senior Living Complex on Weaver Drive on Columbus Road, Koehler said.
One of these commercial spaces in the complex could be a restaurant with a pick-up window, Wolnik said, which is a concept at the moment and could replace the traditional one if a formal proposal is made. I added that it would go through zoning and planning. review process.
The difference between a pick-up window and a drive-thru is that the pick-up window is not visible from the street and must be shielded from sight, “the visual and auditory impact of traditional drive-thru kiosks.”
Given that Granville resident Dan Bellman, a former village council member, speaks at council meetings and uses the app to order food, the language change could actually turn the Gateway District into a fast-food neighborhood. We raised concerns about whether we might open up to drive-thru.
He also noted the transparency of the traffic congestion and zoning change process. Bellman said village officials should have shared the landowner’s development plans as the backdrop for changing the zoning wording.
Koehler and Wolnik later said they had seen the concept of the plan but said it was not a formal plan and could not share further details at this time.
But Koehler believes that if it does come to fruition, the residents of Granville will be delighted as it will bring the business some of them have requested.
Elsewhere in Berman, Wolnik said the change in zoning language will no longer allow drive-thru because fast food restaurants with drive-thru must place all orders and payments online. aesthetics. Wolnik also said a traffic study will be conducted if the proposal moves forward.
Thu Nguyen contributes to TheReportingProject.org, the non-profit news organization of the University of Denison Journalism Program. Alan Miller of The Reporting Project contributed to this article.