The former Schaefer Shell lot, at 2707 S. Big Bend Boulevard, is set to be a Raising Cane’s restaurant, pending zoning variances approval, and final approval from the Maplewood City Council. The former gas station would be demolished for a new building.
A notice was taped to the door announcing a public hearing on the variances (see below) to be held June 8 at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers.
Raising Cane’s offers chicken fingers as its main course.
McDonald’s tried to build a restaurant there but never got past a meeting with neighbors — mostly on Ellis Avenue. McDonald’s was requesting to tear down and rezone two houses on Ellis.
According to the announcement, LuAron McCormack is the development manager for the proposed Raising Cane’s. Her phone (972-769-3364) and her email ([email protected]) — posted there for questions.
I think we need another fast food restaurant to keep people unhealthy so the doctors’ 401Ks can be really healthy…
Agree with Tolstoi. Mwood ought to aim higher than deep-fried fast-food chains. Bad decision.
I share your disappointment. However, I don’t believe Maplewood had any say in what sort of business goes there. If Raising Cane’s purchased the property, they get to put their restaurant. there. Ar least with the hearing and with the review process, Maplewood can have a say in matters that keep the business from being a nuisance ie. if a drive thru is allowed or not and such.
There is a brand new Raisin Caines up on Hampton…why do we need another in Maplewood?
Let’s just saturate the market with the same chain. Not a good idea. Surely there must be another restaurant or business that would better suit this space.
Another fast food establishment across from the high school is detrimental to the health of the children our community. Research has shown children who go to schools within a half mile of fast food are more likely to be overweight or obese, eat fewer fruits and vegetables and consume more soda. If we want to live in a healthy community, we need to start standing against these establishments in our community and supporting healthier options.
Do you have a reference on the studies? The school administration could always make MRH a closed campus; problem solved!
http://rwjf.ws/1ZmbRFM
I am fully in favor of capping drive throughs and fast food, but I think the research study is correlational, not causal. There are other factors at play like socio-economic status when it comes to proximity of fast food restaurants and schools. MICDS, for instance, can afford to operate in a fast-food desert.;) I think your reference is more important when asking this question: What kind of community do we want to be? Where are we going? Where do we see ourselves in 40 years? I bet that repetitive fast food and drive-throughs near homes aren’t in the vision. (Maybe for the town leaders, but not for the citizens.)
Please attend the public forum on June 8th (7 pm) to ensure your thoughts and opinions are heard by our city council members.
Our Board of Adjustment is not required to approve a variance request, which requires a legal proof of hardship. Also, we do not have to approve a change of zoning… These are far from given! Our attendance is encouraged at these meetings. Please do your research.
It is true that maybe only a drive thru will work on that site, but, through the zoning (approval) process, the city can exert great influence as to who goes there. Among those types, about 49 other more complimentary to the city come to mind. The contract for land may also have an out clause for RC, pending zoning. Again, do your research people!! This is our city.
I don’t understand how a restaurant based on chicken “fingers” can even survive against everything else in Maplewood. They must be banking on commuters who need something gross and easy to eat in the car. It’s fine for kids whose parents don’t know any better, I guess, but grown adults tend to prefer actual fried chicken. Just sayin.’
It kinda surprises me that so many people that comment don’t understand and do not want to accept that EVERY business at the corner of Manchester and Big Bend is “banking on commuters”……Our uniqueness, Independents, quaint shops and eateries has an unofficial boundary that starts at the new location of Side Project being completed just east of CVS. The others at the intersection, QT, Whitey’s, Tim Hortons, and now the chicken finger place, couldnt stay in business if they didnt have XX thousands of commuters heading north and south on Big Bend everyday. In a prefect scenario, we would have a walkable, pedestrian friendly, visually appealing intersection there…….but that will not pay the bills.
Well said
Yes well said. I was thinking the same thing when people were griping about Tim Hortons. The people that stop there are not the same people that go to Strange Donuts. I’m not sure why people don’t understand this.
I’m questioning this particular chain’s business model. It has nothing to do with sustainable design or personal preference. It just seems like a weak concept and bad food. There are better ways to make a ton of money on that intersection while capitalizing on commuters. A well-designed, McDonald’s could have worked, but they clearly didn’t want to spend the money on it; those franchisees wanted to puke up a generic storefront and call it done, and they gave up when the neighbors pushed back. An owner with a better eye for the market would find a way to make it work.
But since you did mention community design, the entire theory behind sustainable design says that you can in fact pay the bills that way — hence the term “sustainable.”
And I go to both Tim’s and Strange. I also go to the Bottleworks and Steak n’ Shake. Why pigeonhole people based on where they eat?
How disappointing. I keep hoping that Maplewood would attract a good Vietnamese, Indian or Thai Restaurant. How many more fast food restaurants and sports bars do we need?
I disagree with part of your statement. It seems like the board and the zoning folks do kind of let small businesses have their variances. Zones and easements disappear to aid businesses but reappear when something is needed for a home owner.
The chicken place will do pretty well because of its location. But it won’t be the money maker that McDonalds would have been better because the chicken place’s main and only draw is fried deboned chicken parts, all cooked the same way. Just sayin.
No, seriously. Seriously? Maplewood, the fried chicken capitol of the St. Louis metropolitan area? There goes our dignity. Isn’t there some kind of law where you can’t have one harmful establishment open within so many hundred yards of a similarly harmful establishment for the safety of the neighborhood?
Ew that’s not even good chicken. What a waste
Traffic on that corner is already horrendous! Do not need to add to it. PLEASE do not add another FRIED chicken place. How about a business that offers more healthful choice?
Is it? People repeat this all the time but I don’t see it. I drive through Manchester and Big Bend on my way to work every day and I don’t spend more than a few minutes waiting for the light.
Try making a left turn from Big Bend onto Manchester. The left turn arrow is on for a whopping 5 seconds!
It’s the same making a left from Manchester to Big Bend. In the morning I can sit through three lights.
The traffic isn’t THAT horrendous. But it WOULD help if there was a ‘no left turn’ rule for east bound traffic who want to go to into the gas station. Let the folks turn north on Big Bend and turn into the lgas station at the most northern enter acne,
It sounds like lousy chicken, so it may not increase traffic at all.
Another chicken place? Traffic on this corner is horrible! How about making it into a green space for all to enjoy?
No problem. . . . Buy it from the owner (Don’t worry if s/he says it’s “not for sale; ” that just means “it’s really going to cost you “) and make your green space.
It might take him a little while to see a rerun on his investment.
Another chicken place? What Chicken Charlie’s, KFC and Gus’s not enough fried chicken? Put something else there.
Don’t forget Porter’s. We do seem to have hit max chicken.
What is Chicken Charlie’s ?
I think they mean Charlie Chicken which is now Porters.
It would be nice to know what ‘variances’ to off street parking and transition zoning they are requesting.
It is important to understand that McDonalds never owned the property. They must have had some agreement with Circle K (the previous property owner) to allow them a chance to develop a site plan. However, the issue with McDonalds moving forward in their plan was that they needed two properties re-zoned. MW could make up any reason they want to not re-zone the property, and having a bunch of citizens upset is as good as any. As a result, McDs, backed out. The critical piece from stopping McD’s was they wanted the extra space and weren’t willing to change their site plan seeing they weren’t going to get it.
So this is a very different scenario that Maplewood citizens need to understand. Raising Cane owns the property and they don’t presumably need to re-zone property. Because of this, they have a much greater interest and aren’t going to back out just because citizens are boisterous in voicing concerns. There is not a legal reason in this case the city government can deny a private investor from building on their land. The sooner citizens accept that a building is going in there the better because that allows citizens to focus on what control they do have – which is building placement on the lot and how it looks. This is where you can expect (and demand) from your city council to mitigate traffic, smell, and noise concerns. Ask that the building is close to Manchester with parking in the rear and no drive thru. Use this as an opportunity to make MW more walkable.
I also hope they take into account how many careless drivers use the lot to cut through and avoid the lights. Just filling up my tank I had a couple of near misses. Definitely make it so it’s not easy to break the law and kill someone by the building placement.
Yes, what Dawn said! Keeping building setbacks consistent with urban development, rather than suburban, would help make the west side of Big Bend more walkable and therefore ultimately more viable.
Thanks, Joe. After months of wondering what would go there, Raising Cane’s is meh. I hope that developing the site will include removing the underground fuel tanks and remediating any other potential impact of operating a gas station and auto repair shop for so many years. If that’s the case, the cost of doing so would be substantial, making a chain of some sort pretty much the only type of business with the resources to develop that lot.
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