Another Starbucks planned on Harlem

by BRIAN NADIG

A Starbucks Coffee with a drive-through facility is being proposed for the site of a former Bakers Square restaurant at the southeast corner of Harlem and Waveland avenues.

Earlier this year an automated car wash was proposed for the 29,000-square-foot site at 3649 N. Harlem Ave., but residents expressed traffic concerns about the plans at a Feb. 13 meeting hosted by Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th).

"The property has been vacant for a year, and I am committed to finding a use for it before the end of this year. The property is for sale for $1.5 million. Realistically, the business options are limited because of that cost," Sposato wrote in his Feb. 20 newsletter when he announced that the car wash proposal was on hold.

Sposato said in a recent interview that he supports the proposal for the Starbucks and that most of the feedback on social media that he has read was been positive.

The site’s B3-1 zoning allows for a restaurant, but the Zoning Board of Appeals would have to issue a special use for the drive-through facility.