PORTAGE PARK — A plan to transform a long-vacant lot at Irving Park Road and Central Avenue into a drive-thru Starbucks is moving forward — but Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th) said Wednesday he would block it for now.
DK Acquisitions formally asked city officials to change the rules governing the property at 5533-57 W. Irving Park Road — the first step toward building a two-building strip mall anchored by a Starbucks cafe with a drive-thru lane.
But Sposato said no one informed him or his office that they planned to move forward on the proposal that the alderman said he was concerned could hurt two nearby independent coffee shops: Portage Grounds, 5501 W. Irving Park Road, and Perkolator, 6032 W. Irving Park Road.
"At this point I'm not supporting it," Sposato said, calling the firm a "renegade" for applying for a zoning change without his blessing. "I can't support something I know nothing about."
Representatives of the firm are scheduled to meet with Sposato on Friday to discuss their plan for the property, which the alderman has called an "eyesore" for more than a decade.
"We gave them a bit of a scolding," Sposato said.
Once the plans have been fleshed out, Sposato said he will hold a community meeting to give neighbors and 38th Ward residents a chance to weigh in.
A drive-thru lane requires special permission from city officials as well as Sposato's support.
Robert Quezada and Karrin Staskawicz — who opened Portage Grounds in 2014 because they were frustrated at not being able to get a decent cup of coffee in their own neighborhood — have said they are worried a Starbucks less than a block away would mean the end for their cafe.
Joe Basilone, who with his wife Melissa owns three businesses in the Irving Austin Business District including Perkolator, said there were "a million more things I'd rather see on that corner" than a Starbucks.
The Starbucks proposed to be built on the western edge of Portage Park could be the neighborhood's second. Planning officials are weighing a proposal to allow a Starbucks with a drive-thru lane to open at Cicero and Berteau avenues north of the Six Corners Shopping District.
The Portage Park Neighborhood Association will discuss the development at its meeting set for 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.
The group organized opposition to a proposed Dunkin Donuts with a drive-thru lane that had Sposato's support. In July, city officials blocked the development.
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