Campaign Against Clarendon Hills Dunkin' Donuts Drive-Thru

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Neighbors opposed to a proposed Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru have launched a letter-writing campaign with village trustees.

The Village Board is expected to take up the issue at its May 16 meeting. At a meeting this week, Village Manager Kevin Barr said it was doubtful the board would make a decision at the coming meeting.

Last month, the village's zoning board voted 4-3 to recommend the drive-thru.

The combination Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins is planned for the southwest corner of 55th Street and Western Avenue. It is the site of the old Tracy's Tavern, which closed in 2019.

One of the letters written to the Village Board was by Mark Kroeger, who lives in the 5600 block of Western Avenue. He said the property in question should be zoned residential.

"Our neighbors have been pretty good about keeping property on 55th Street residential," Kroeger wrote. "In Westmont, when a service station on 55th closed, the property became residential. In Hinsdale, when the Tavern Belluomini closed, the property became residential."

The old Belluomini property is across from Hinsdale Central High School and now the site of a house. It would have been an ideal place for a Dunkin' Donuts, Kroeger said.

"But Hinsdale did the right thing by making it zoned residential," he said.

Traffic was the big issue during zoning board hearings on Dunkin' Donuts.

Unlike Tracy's Tavern, Dunkin' Donuts won't have access to Western. Under the plan, drivers would only enter the restaurant's property by making a right from 55th. They leave the property by making a right onto 55th.

At the April 21 zoning board hearing, audience members objected when Chairman Wil Freve said opponents have brought up "red herrings" about traffic. He said issues involving school buses had nothing to do with the property.

"Our job is to look at whether vehicles can enter the site safely and not speculate where they are going to go a mile down the road," Freve said.

However, zoning board member Karin Hanke suggested the proposal was unacceptable.

"If I put myself in the position of people who live there, I don't think I'd be comfortable with it," Hanke said.

She said the village should consider rezoning it.

"I'm sorry, but if that's an option, we should look at that," she said.

The audience of more than 50 people, mostly opponents, applauded her.

Freve, Krista Casper, Jeff Keiner and Tom Szurgot voted for the drive-thru, while Hanke, Andriy Striltschuk and Peter Jablonski were against.

The developer, Hinsdale-based KrohVan LLC, is proposing a 6,000-square-foot building. A third of the development would be for the combination Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurant. The rest is for a yet-to-be-determined retailer.

The traffic engineer for the developer advised putting up a traffic light at 55th and Western. But he said the only potential impact of the drive-thru on the intersection is if the traffic backs up, which he considered highly unlikely.