Cheektowaga Planning Board members recommended approval of a proposal to add a 535‑square‑foot, double‑lane drive‑through cafe stand for 7 Brew within an existing plaza on Union Road after hearing traffic analyses and comments from the applicant and the plaza owner.

The board’s review focused on queuing and circulation. The applicant’s attorney, Ari Goldberg of Barclay Damon, told the board that 7 Brew provided a queuing letter showing 19 queuing spaces on site and cited their own operations data — a maximum observed queue of 14 cars at comparable locations — and said the town Traffic Safety Committee, the state DOT and the county DPW had raised no concerns. “We do not think that there is any significant issue with the queuing capacity at this location or traffic impact on Union Road,” Goldberg said.

The nut graf: The application raised concerns from board members about vehicles backing up into the plaza drive aisles or onto Union Road, but the applicant and the plaza owner said analyses and site design features — including employee order takers who use tablets and a bypass lane — should limit delays. The board balanced those assurances against the potential for higher short‑term demand when a new business opens and ultimately moved to recommend approval.

Details discussed at the hearing included how orders are taken and retrieved, peak hours and site orientation. Goldberg said 7 Brew uses 직원 (employees) who take orders from cars with tablets — described in the meeting as “texters” — and that typical customer dwell time is three to five minutes. He said the product is drinks only, there is no order board and there is a bypass lane at the site. John August, representing the plaza ownership and management company, said his firm owns 35 shopping centers and that engineers for the plaza and 7 Brew worked to minimize circulation conflicts. “We felt this was the best plan,” August said, adding his engineers did not expect an exit problem from the plaza.

Board members asked whether reorienting the building could reduce conflicts; applicants and the plaza owner said rotating the building would reduce available parking for other tenants and that the site’s morning peak (roughly 7–9 a.m.) does not coincide with the plaza’s busiest periods. One board member said examples of similar conversions have worked in other locations. After discussion, a board motion to recommend approval was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Less critical details: speakers acknowledged the possibility of short delays where one driver’s order is ready before the next, and applicants agreed to follow-up coordination with town staff as needed. The applicants thanked the board for their consideration.