Former Sycamore 7-Eleven building could become Xpress Mart

SYCAMORE – A new convenience store could set up shop at the site of a former 7-Eleven in downtown Sycamore, according to city documents.

On Monday, the Sycamore Planning and Zoning Commission will consider a request from Nehalkumar Patel, who is seeking a special use permit to sell tobacco and related products at 404 W. State St., where he plans to open a convenience store called Xpress Mart.

The request also requires Sycamore City Council approval.

In a March 4 letter to City Manager Michael Hall, Sycamore Community Development Director John Sauter said the store would be open daily from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m., but may stay open 24 hours a day in the future.

“[Xpress Mart] would sell items such as dairy, bakery, snack foods, beverages, grocery, confectionery, liquor and tobacco. Mr. Patel’s business model is very similar to the former 7-11 Store, which also included behind-the-counter sales of tobacco and related products,” Sauter wrote in documents released ahead of Monday’s meeting.

The store would not be within 250 feet of a residential property containing a nursery, pre-school, primary, intermediate or secondary school, day care center or day care home. It also is not located within a residential-zoned area, according to city documents.

No tobacco or tobacco-related products will be displayed on or sold from the main retail area of the store. Instead, they’ll be displayed and sold from behind the cashier counter, requiring an employee to get the product for a transaction, according to city documents.

“Before we open we will train all staff and management team on the tobacco & alcohol sales policy. We will provide the right tools to check ID’s,” Patel wrote in his petition for a special use permit.

Sauter also wrote that Patel plans to complete minor mechanical and cosmetic changes to the building, so it could be a while before the store is ready for patrons.

“[Those changes] will require that all necessary building permits be issued prior to work commencing and all required inspections be performed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Additionally, all exterior signage will be reviewed, approved and permitted as well,” Sauter wrote.