Proposal for New Darien Drive-Thru

A new fast-food drive-thru may find a home in Darien, but not in a hurry. The proposal first needs a stamp of approval from the Planning & Zoning Commission.

Concerned about the obesity epidemic, Thomas Toepke and Gertrude Allen Wood want to bring “Healthy Food on the Run” to Darien. They’re requesting a special permit from P&Z to modify the existing property and parking lot at 205 Post Road—currently up for lease—and establish a drive-thru-only restaurant.

The proposal came before P&Z at a public hearing on Tuesday, where the logistics of operating a drive-thru just yards away from a residential neighborhood on Richmond Drive came under scrutiny. It’s a potential problem for two reasons, said the commission: it’s likely to draw a lot of traffic, and the system for placing orders is inefficient at best.

The concept of Healthy Food on the Run is to put a healthy twist on fast-food favorites from soups and sandwiches to burgers and baked French toast, said Wood.

“That means 100 percent natural, all organic where appropriate, never artificial, essentially local and seasonal,” she said.

All the cooking will take place off site, and on-site preparations will be limited to reassembling, reheating and packaging, said Wood. As there’s no need for a state-of-the-art kitchen, modifications to the existing building are minor and mostly architectural, said Land Use Attorney Wilder Gleason who presented the site plan.

“This presents a unique opportunity for Darien for a restaurant where the food is served quick, but it’s not fast food,” said Gleason.

It sounds like a good idea, said P&Z Member M. Reese Hutchison—perhaps too good.

“You’ve got a great product,” said Reese. “I think more than two people are going to show up.”

Consultant John Canning, who presented the traffic statistics, said that the potential of backup of traffic was a primary concern to the applicant. He said that assuming an order takes about one-and-a-half minutes to fill, the site could accommodate 38 to 40 customers per hour. If the popularity exceeds expectations, Canning said the applicant would consider more stringent measures, like restricting orders during peak hours to those previously phoned-in or faxed.

But further problematic, said P&Z officials, is the proposed order system: an ATM-like kiosk.

According to the plan, customers place their orders electronically at the ATM and in the time it takes to drive to the pick-up window and pay, their food is ready to go. Moreover, the ATM registers customers’ orders, so regulars’ orders are automatically recognized. That works in theory, said commission members, but in reality it’s too complicated and highly inefficient.

“If orders can be placed and filled so fast, why do you even need a kiosk?” said Hutchison, who suggested that if the kiosk must stay, it must move closer to the window.

The site plan to date locates the kiosk on the Richmond Drive edge of the Post Road property; so one customer’s lengthy order—or another’s electronic difficulties—could cause a backup of thirty cars onto Richmond Drive, Hutchison said.

“We’re not reinventing drivethru; we’re tring to make it more efficient,” said Toepke.

Gleason said he and his clients would seriously consider P&Z’s suggestions and return in the New Year after conducting a number of neighborhood meetings.

A public hearing is scheduled for 8 p.m., Jan. 12, 2010 at Town Hall.