Paraiso Minimarket granted preliminary approval for new grocery store, restaurant in DeKalb

The petitioners’ zoning change request was approved in a 6-0 vote at Tuesday’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

A building, located at 304 N. 6th St. in DeKalb, is seen Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. It could become home to a new grocery store and a small restaurant if the DeKalb Planning Zoning Commission and DeKalb City Council approve of a petitioner's rezoning request.

DEKALB – A proposal aimed at bringing a new grocery store with a small restaurant to the city’s downtown received the support of the DeKalb Planning and Zoning Commission.

A zoning change request to make it happen was approved Tuesday in a 6-0 vote.

Petitioner Martin Garcia Miranda, who owns Paraiso Minimarket, made his pitch to the Planning and Zoning Commission, explaining why DeKalb needs another grocery store.

“We have a small grocery store on 10th Street, and we are trying to open a bigger location for the community to be more convenient for everyone,” Miranda said.

At 9,900 square feet, the grocery store and restaurant would occupy two-thirds of the building, with the Association for Individual Development remaining a tenant in its 3,300 square-foot space.

The city and the petitioners are working together to ensure that a parking plan is in place for the grocery store and restaurant.

City Planner Dan Olson said the city has found there is adequate parking along North Sixth Street during different hours of the day.

“There’s usually between seven to 11 parking spaces either on the west or east side that are open during different times of the day,” Olson said. “There’s no restrictions on hours at this time.”

But the petitioners and the city are still ironing out some details about how to stripe the parking lot.

Commission Vice Chairman Bill McMahon questioned how vehicles will be parked parallel along the business to allow enough space for patrons to enter and exit.

Olson replied, saying, “they won’t be up on the sidewalk.”

“It’s being further developed by the architect for the applicant and our city engineer to make sure the spaces work and don’t conflict with their entrance and exit doors on the property,” Olson said.

The city’s new comprehensive plan update calls for commercial use for the area in question, which Olson said the business proposal satisfies.

“We think it’s a good reuse of the building and it’ll be no negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” Olson said.

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