Andy’s Frozen Custard is one step closer to replacing the McGaffer’s Saloon building at 7737 Roosevelt Rd.
At its Oct. 19 meeting, Forest Park’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to approve Andy’s conditional use request for a drive thru business and to consolidate the plots of land east and west of McGaffer’s Saloon. The village council will vote on whether to approve the national frozen custard franchise’s move onto Roosevelt Road, likely at a meeting next month.
With their approval, the Planning and Zoning Commission requested the following conditions from the Andy’s site: An eight-foot fence on the north side of the property, no planters on the southwest corner of the lot, a monument sign instead of one that includes a 25-foot ice cream cone, plus a photometric and acoustics study to measure light and sound impact.
If approved by the village council, Andy’s will have a two-lane drive thru and walk-up windows — which respectively average 67% and 33% of Andy’s business, according to Travis King, who works in development at Andy’s Frozen Custard and presented at the Oct. 19 meeting.
Other Andy’s locations are open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Opening hours extend another 30 minutes from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Zoning board members asked questions about vehicle access to the property, noise impact and signage. One resident, who lives directly north of where Andy’s wants to build, shared concerns about noise and light.
Andy’s completed a traffic impact study and plans to have access points on Roosevelt and Troost, which will soon allow two-way traffic.
Steve Glinke, the village’s building and planning department chief, said the village has already taken steps to turn part of one-way Troost into a two-way, just to the east of the property and south of the alley. Cars exiting Andy’s would have to turn right onto Troost. There are currently three curb cuts on Roosevelt for the property, and the one closest to Troost will remain — allowing cars to turn left or right onto Roosevelt.
“We’ve gone through multiple iterations of how we wanted to run the circulation, and the final plan to go from east to west to south seemed to be the most effective,” Glinke said at the meeting.
Because the curb cut for 7-Eleven just to the west is close to the property line, and getting in and out of the gas station is difficult, board members asked Andy’s representatives not to put any planters on the southwest corner of the property.
Trash trucks will access receptacles once or twice a week, and Andy’s will get food deliveries twice a week in the morning, when trucks will park near the back or south end of the store for about 45 minutes at a time. Seventeen cars can line up in the drive thru, and the site has 27 parking spots.
Andy’s drive thru is face-to-face, where cars order at an order window or with runners who walk up to their car. Though there are no speakers used at the drive thru, the patio has a few. The patio is oriented toward Roosevelt Road, away from residences to the north.
King said he could ask about limiting patio music during late hours of operation. And about making the required minimum six-foot tall fence on the north side of the property even taller, since the commission requested an eight-foot fence.
“We’re open to exploring a larger fence if that’s necessary for the property,” King said. He added that the solid fence will serve as a sound shield to residences to the north. And landscaping will provide additional screening around the property. “Andy’s is obsessed with landscaping — is maybe a safe way to say it — so whatever we need to do to screen the property, we’ll do so if we’re not meeting the requests of the citizens.”
Andy’s signage includes a lighted facia on the building and a sign on the southeast corner of the site, at Roosevelt and Troost, facing east and west. Andy’s plans showed an option for a 25-foot-tall ice cream cone for the sign, but board members said that didn’t align with the village’s comprehensive plan.
“In conversations with Andy’s corporate, we made it abundantly clear that our preference was for a monument sign on that corner, since the blade sign is probably going to be very effective at identifying the site,” Glinke said of the logo on top of the long structure that stretches across most Andy’s buildings.
In addition to listening to resident feedback, King said Andy’s plans to work with Forest Park as a whole.
“Andy’s is committed to being an active member of the community by participating in sponsoring local events, creating employment opportunities for local residents, generating increased commercial activity and tax contributions, and supporting other local businesses through shared patronage and proximate commercial activity,” King said.
He added that Andy’s plans to join the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce and “utilize those connections to stay informed about specific initiatives and events that we can support,” King said. “We actively support and contribute to police, fire, and other first responders and medical staff. We will do product drops at local businesses, and we engage in partnerships and sponsorships through libraries and park districts and schools.”
Dissenting vote
Paul Price was the only board member to vote against Andy’s, citing photos that were passed around from a public commenter who’s a part of Laborers Local One.
Photos showed a construction site Andy’s is currently developing on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. One image depicted the construction site surrounded on three sides by construction fencing and on one side by a wooden fence. The wooden fence, which was there prior to construction, has a missing slat large enough for a person to climb through, according to Price. The wooden fence backs up to the construction site and a trench and sits next to a “children playing” sign. Andy’s representatives said the fence will be replaced toward the end of the project.
“I have concerns that I don’t believe have been addressed,” Price said when asked why he voted against Andy’s. “Those pictures of the construction site that were shared shook me.” Price works with Chicago unions as an employee of Laborers’ International Union of North America’s Great Lakes Regional Organizing Committee.
Nick Medina, a business agent at Laborers Locals One, spoke during public comment to share the photos with board members.
“I know that not all construction sites are perfect, but I also know that construction owners and contractors that are building this close to residents and other businesses should take extra care to make sure their sites are safe and secure,” Medina said. “As you can see, Andy’s has some work to do in order to protect the workers on its job sites and the surrounding communities. If you decide to move forward with this project, I ask that you do everything in your power to make sure Andy’s is protecting Forest Park residents and pedestrians around its job sites and hiring responsible contractors that will keep this community safe.”
Jeremy Esparza, a business agent for Locals One, also spoke during public comment to ask who Andy’s subcontractors were. Chairperson Marsha East said the zoning commission is a recommending board and suggested the commenter bring questions about the general contractor and subcontractors to the village council.
Glinke said, since the site is over half an acre, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District will require a temporary construction fence around the property.
“Whether or not we want to add some mesh cover for dust control is a discussion at the permit process,” Glinke said.
Glinke later told the Review about Andy’s, “I was hoping for a unanimous vote, but this is an economic gain for the village.”