Dixon City Council approves splitting Arby's property for coffee shop

DIXON – It’s looking likely that Dixon finally will be getting a longed-for coffee shop.

The City Council has granted a request by the owners of the new Arby’s restaurant going up at 1650 S. Galena Ave. to split the site in two, to make room for a coffee shop.

Heartland Beef Inc., an Arby’s franchisee group, asked to subdivide the site, the Plan Commission recommended the request be granted, and the City Council signed off.

Mike Todd, Heartland’s senior vice president of construction and development, hinted in early March that Heartland was in talks to bring in a yet-to-be-named coffee shop.

The city has been trying to land a coffee chain for years – its neighbors in Sterling opened a Starbucks in late 2017 and a Dunkin’ Donuts came to Rock Falls around the same time.

Heartland, which is based in Bloomington, Indiana, has 36 restaurants in five states, including those in Rock Falls and Clinton, Iowa.