Commission moves 7 Brew drive‑through basic development plan toward council amid traffic and stacking concerns

The Huber Heights Planning Commission considered a basic development plan for a 7 Brew drive‑through kiosk at 7605 Old Troy Pike and moved the application forward to City Council review, with commissioners and staff highlighting vehicle queuing, peak-hour traffic and existing parking-lot conditions as issues to monitor.

Aaron Sorrell, city planning staff, said the half-acre site (the former White Castle parking lot) is zoned planned commercial and that the pre-fabricated kiosk and walk‑in cooler meet setback and material requirements. "The ITE trip generation manual ... indicates that this type of use is, really is a 90% pass by rate for this use," Sorrell said, adding that staff expects about a 10% net increase in traffic because most customers will already be on the road. He noted the plan shows 11 parking spaces and 14 stacking spaces; the zoning code requires eight parking spaces and five stacking spaces. Sorrell recommended approval of the basic development plan and said utilities are available and underground, landscaping meets code, and signage conforms to size limits.

Representing the applicant, Brian Evans, director of operations for Southern Brook (the franchisee), described the operation as a drive‑through-focused concept with short service times. "Speed and kindness are are 2 mottos," Evans said, and the company aims to deliver orders in "about 3 to 4 minutes." Evans and Matt Wilkes (director of operations for Ohio) told the commission the company generally operates from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and that typical staffing peaks at about eight to ten employees on site at once.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about how deep queueing could extend into neighboring parking areas (including the adjacent Rural King/Rural King parking lot), sight lines for the cross‑access to Fifth Third Bank, and whether additional queuing would require restriping or changes to the northbound turn lane. Sorrell said staff believed Old Troy Pike can handle the anticipated traffic and that the city could add additional queuing room or adjust lane markings if actual traffic patterns require it. He also noted the Beavercreek 7 Brew store had anomalously high volume compared with other franchise locations and that the company has provided hourly order data from four stores for the commission to review.

The commission recorded a motion to approve the basic development plan (Case BDP25-10) and moved it to City Council for review; staff said the detailed development plan would return for final technical review if council approves the basic plan. The transcript does not record a final roll‑call vote on the basic development plan during the excerpt provided; the discussion and the motion to forward were recorded on the record.