Starbucks, Chipotle coming to Batavia

BATAVIA – The redevelopment of the former Avenue Motors property in Batavia is continuing with a plan to build a Starbucks coffee shop and a Chipotle restaurant on the Randall Road site.

The two free-standing buildings will be located directly south of the Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant that has been operating for more than a year at the southeast corner of Randall and McKee Street.

The roadway which provides access to the chicken restaurant from McKee will be extended farther south to both serve the new development and to make a connection with the existing shopping center anchored by Ace Hardware and Apple Villa Famous Pancakes.

Preliminary plans submitted to the Batavia Community Development Department by Randall Road Resources of North Aurora show the Starbucks and the Chipotle buildings on the west side of the access road, with a shared monument sign along Randall.

Both businesses will have drive-thru lanes circling the buildings to serve customers.

The Starbucks will constitute the northerly portion of the development, with a 2,330-square-foot building and parking for 33 vehicles.

Immediately to the south, the Chipotle building will cover 2,600 square feet and be provided with 31 parking stalls.

Batavia Planning and Zoning Officer Joel Strassman said it is conceivable that construction could get underway this fall.

That is indeed the plan, said Russ Huggins, general manager for Randall Road Resources, the developer. The goal is to get work started this fall and open the two businesses next spring, Huggins said.

But first, the development plans must gain approval from the Batavia City Council.

That process will begin at the Aug. 4 meeting of the Batavia Plan Commission, Strassman said.

The former Avenue Motors property has been receiving plenty of attention from passersby already, with work well underway to construct a storm water detention facility serving the Menards home improvement store property to the north.

The access road separates the Raising Cane’s from the storm water site to the east.

There are still two more lots available on the former Avenue Motors property. One is at the south end of the property next to the Chipotle site. The other is on the east side of the access road, immediately south of the storm water facility.

A narrow strip of land runs north and south along the entire east side of the property, separating residential areas to the east from the redeveloping commercial land to the west.

Strassman said this final piece of the puzzle is not to be developed for commercial use, but rather for the creation of a storm water detention facility serving the new businesses.