Greenfield Restaurant Owner Denied Drive-Thru Addition

The owner of a restaurant on one of the city's busiest intersections believes adding a drive-thru option for his customers might be the only way he can stay competitive.

A vote by the on Tuesday however, told Spiro Asimakopoulos, owner of on Highway 100 and Layton Avenue, he’ll have to keep looking for a way to maintain his edge.

Citing potential noise concerns, an unsafe parking lot and traffic flow and complaints from neighbors, the council voted unanimously to deny Asimakopoulos a request to add a drive-thru on the west side of his 31,400-square-foot property former known as Omega Custard.

“There have been problems with lights, problems with noise and problems with garbage,” said former Greenfield alderwoman Barbara Clark, who lives just north of Goody’s. “Adding a drive-thru would just be expanding the problems.”

Jon Olson of Davidsen Consulting, LLC, representing Asimakopoulos, said when his client opened the restaurant in 1991, drive-thrus were not as prevalent, nor was competition from chains like Culver's that offer similar menus. That’s no longer the case, he said.

“Consumer demands and habits have changed,” Olson said. “Whereas people used to go into restaurants and sit down and eat, that doesn’t happen as much. To maintain their business and stay competitive, he wants to add the drive-thru.”

Olson defended the proposed drive-thru layout, and questioned the noise concerns.

“The restaurant sits at corner of one of the busiest intersections in Greenfield,” he said. “It is a noisy area. I’m not certain a drive-thru would cause that much more noise.”

Alderman Karl Kastner, whose district includes Goody’s, said he received numerous phone calls from neighbors who opposed the addition.