Council approves special permit for full-service restaurant at 9538 Olive Boulevard

On Nov. 18, 2025, the Olivette City Council approved ordinance 28-23, granting a special permit to allow a 3,772-square-foot full-service restaurant at the Easy Storage property addressed as 9538 Olive Boulevard.

Planning Director Carlos Trejo summarized the proposal and review process, saying the applicant seeks to combine three tenant spaces on the lower level to create a 67-seat, full-service restaurant within an existing mixed-use building and that the site is zoned COR (Commercial Office Retail), which requires a special-permit review for restaurants. "Before you tonight is a brief presentation regarding tonight's bill, bill 3053, which would be the authorization to issue a special permit to allow a restaurant, approximately 3,772 square feet at the Easy Storage facility," Trejo said.

Trejo outlined site constraints and mitigation: the tenant space has a single exterior wall, exhaust and grease equipment must vent and be contained internally, and the restaurant's parking demand calculation requires 37 stalls. He said the developer is negotiating an off-site easement with adjacent Olivette Lanes to provide 12–16 additional stalls; with a 20% mixed-use parking discount the site can access 43 stalls in the configuration discussed. The Planning & Community Development Commission recommended approval with five conditions, including securing the legal instrument for off-site parking prior to permitting, keeping the grease trap internal, and capping maximum seating at 113 with hours of operation set at 6:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.

Steve Bond, representing the building owner, told the council negotiations with prospective tenants were ongoing and cautioned that a signed lease had not been finalized: "I can report to you that we do not have an agreement yet ... I would hope within the next week to 10 days, we'll either have an agreement or we will not have an agreement." Don Clackner, owner of adjacent Olivette Lanes, confirmed there is capacity to provide the requested easement and parking: "Leaves us still plenty of parking ... we have 140 parking spaces," he said, noting typical league-night usage.

Council members asked about safety where vehicle access runs inside the building adjacent to tenant walls; Trejo and staff said the building is fire rated and fully sprinklered and that the fire marshal will provide detailed code review during permitting. Trejo also entered the development ordinances and prior adoption records into the meeting record and confirmed public-notice requirements had been met.

Council member Prashant Hellman moved to approve Bill 3053; the motion passed on a unanimous poll of the five-member council. The ordinance becomes 28-23. City staff said the approval allows the special permit but that building plans, fire and health reviews, and execution of the off-site parking instrument remain prerequisites to permitting and operation.

The immediate next steps are final lease negotiations by the property representative, execution and review of the off-site parking agreement, and the standard building-permit and fire-safety reviews required for restaurant construction and operation.