After months of the old Friendly’s building sitting vacant and unused, plans to move a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise into the location are moving forward in the village of Fayetteville.
The property, located on the corner of Routes 5 and 257, was previously being used as a Friendly’s restaurant until its closure in July 2013 as a result of the company filing for bankruptcy in 2011.
Developer JFJ Holdings, LLC bought the property with plans to move a business in, but the group has not moved forward with any plans until recently with the proposal of a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in the building.
The restaurant will not contain a drive-thru and will contain more seating than many typical Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants, and even has plans for a meeting room, according to Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson.
The developer has submitted site plans for review by the planning board, as well as an application for a special use permit, which is needed to operate a restaurant in the area. The planning board discussed this matter at its Feb. 2 meeting, which occurred after press time.
Following this, the village planning board must gain approval of a traffic study on the property from the State Department of Transportation.
In March, there will be a public hearing for the property held by the planning board where the public will have a chance to voice their opinions about the proposed restaurant, said Olson.
Plans to move the Dunkin’ Donuts in will not require any actions by the Village Board of Trustees because no zone change request is expected, Olson said.
Development of the previous Friendly’s property was an item on a Top 10 list of goals for the village, which was presented by Olson at the Board of Trustee’s Jan. 12 meeting.
“If it’s done properly, I think it can work,” said Olson. “I have all the faith in our planning board on getting everything done correctly.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
