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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on December 6, 2009 at 8:28am

Ron, What a small world, I working on the same project. In fact I haven't even had time to study the pics that were taken yesterday. Post some pics of the site if you want and give us more to go on. I have taken extensive workshops on a brick and morter sit down shop and some general rules/guidelines work or apply to your situation. For instance, if at all possible be on the right hand site of the street that gets the morning flow of traffic. Make it easy in and easy back out to the street they came off of. It likely won't work for you but if possible, like with coffee "shacks" have windows on both sides of the building to service cars going both directions.
When you get a chance run some average traffic #'s. Get up early and count the cars or potential customers. You may have done all this already but I'm just going over what I remember. This list if full of barista's who have worked in drivethrus and owners of drivethrus in service as we speak. BX is a wonderfull resource for this search...
As to turning radius, test it with your car, try different senerios. Menu placement, much will depend on your frontage and existing windows. You may want to modify the front to suit your needs. As I have learned on this list, it is nice to have an order window to help keep cars moving. Any moving feels like progress when your in a hurry to get to work or etc.
Accept my friend invitation on this list and I will share my personal progress with you.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on December 6, 2009 at 10:28am

Talk to your city/county planing or economic development person. The local codes will dictate what you can do to probably pretty narrow options.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on December 6, 2009 at 10:42am

Thanks Jason,
Here I was assuming that this initial political "ground" work had already been done.
The drive thru I am working on is only possible in this one spot because the local city council does not allow drive thru's of any kind on 90% of a one mile road through the little town,.....dumb but true.
Joe--
Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform.



Jason Shipley said:

Talk to your city/county planing or economic development person. The local codes will dictate what you can do to probably pretty narrow options.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ingber on December 6, 2009 at 12:03pm

Our local code enforcement officer is mostly clueless unless you are building a garage. The County office legally defers to the local (village) office.

Since there are already existing curb cuts (because of the previous convenience store/gas station), there isn't much new work required. I will add a service window and run some water/electric lines, but none of these require permits or approvals. There is an existing storage building (approx 10' x 20') that I plan on removing to allow traffic flow.

"The drive thru I am working on is only possible in this one spot because the local city council does not allow drive thru's of any kind on 90% of a one mile road through the little town,.....dumb but true."

Our village does not have any regulations regarding drive thru businesses.

I have a good working relationship with the County Health Dept. inspector, as he helped me (with information) when I set up my existing Cafe.

I will try to get some photos taken and posted tomorrow.

Ron, the Country Guy

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Permalink Reply by Dennis on December 6, 2009 at 12:04pm

wow...well thought out response! Also be weary of the legalities of EPA in response to the former gas station. here in Canada former gas stations require alot of certifications and money to allow building etc to ensure the ground is clean. If your looking at buying the property be careful.

Joseph Robertson said:

Ron, What a small world, I working on the same project. In fact I haven't even had time to study the pics that were taken yesterday. Post some pics of the site if you want and give us more to go on. I have taken extensive workshops on a brick and morter sit down shop and some general rules/guidelines work or apply to your situation. For instance, if at all possible be on the right hand site of the street that gets the morning flow of traffic. Make it easy in and easy back out to the street they came off of. It likely won't work for you but if possible, like with coffee "shacks" have windows on both sides of the building to service cars going both directions.
When you get a chance run some average traffic #'s. Get up early and count the cars or potential customers. You may have done all this already but I'm just going over what I remember. This list if full of barista's who have worked in drivethrus and owners of drivethrus in service as we speak. BX is a wonderfull resource for this search...
As to turning radius, test it with your car, try different senerios. Menu placement, much will depend on your frontage and existing windows. You may want to modify the front to suit your needs. As I have learned on this list, it is nice to have an order window to help keep cars moving. Any moving feels like progress when your in a hurry to get to work or etc.
Accept my friend invitation on this list and I will share my personal progress with you.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ingber on December 6, 2009 at 12:20pm

Dennis, Thanks for the heads up about potential problems with gas stations. Here in New York State, the Dept. of Environmental Conservation is extremely "vigilant" about this issue. I bought the property over 10 years ago, and have clean "certification" from the DEC. The former owners cleaned up the property before they sold it (to me).

Ron, the Country Guy

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ingber on December 9, 2009 at 11:57am

Trying to upload a site plan diagram. Hope it works.

Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated.

Ron, the Country Guy

Attachments:

• Drive Thru plot layout V02.doc, 28 KB

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on December 9, 2009 at 1:53pm

Ron will you be using a menu board and ordering system or just ordering at the window?

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ingber on December 10, 2009 at 4:47am

I am open to both ideas. Would love to hear some pros and cons from folks who have actually done it. Most drive thrus that I have seen use a menu board/order system (please talk to the clown!) including coffee operations.

I anticipate relatively slow traffic (compared to some operations that I have seen), so I don't think that the order at the window version will actually slow things down. Also, this will be a one person operation, so I think that talking to the customer as they order (would you like a fresh muffin with your coffee?) would be better for business.

Ron, the Country Guy

Jason Shipley said:

Ron will you be using a menu board and ordering system or just ordering at the window?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on December 10, 2009 at 5:44am

When you say slow traffic what exactly do you mean? how may customers do you expect to average an hour? How many during morning peak hours? How many cars per day travel on the main road in front of your store?

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Permalink Reply by stephanie crocker on December 13, 2009 at 9:53am

ALso regarding traffic. Is the gas station proper big enough to allow a little seating area? Because if you aren't anticipating too much traffic in the drive thru side, you might consider other revenue streams like a sit down cafe.

Personally, I LOVE the idea of converting a gas station to an espresso stand. You could have a lot of fun with your concept with all sorts of fun puns, like saying "fill 'er up" and fun terminology on your menu. But don't get too cheesy. Also, conceptually, maybe this is a sign of things to come, with people valuing high quality food and beverages over gas ;)

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