A Starbucks will open its doors this fall on Whiskey Road in the City of Aiken, according to a spokesperson for Starbucks.
Tommy Paradise, the interim director of the City's Planning Department, verified Thursday that staff does have building plans for the Starbucks and a joining Chipotle Mexican Grill, both to be located on the former Teresa's Mexican Restaurant property, 1935 Whiskey Road. Paradise said the proposed Starbucks would be 1,954 square feet, able to hold 76 people, and the Chipotle, 2,275 square feet, could hold 100 people.
"Right now, we're revising the site's landscaped plans, and we're getting close to being able to approve that," Paradise said. "The building plans have been submitted to the City's Inspection Division for them to start preliminary work and plan review. We do know that a contractor of record has not been selected yet for the building permit."
The Starbucks spokesperson told the Aiken Standard the establishment will feature a cafe and drive-thru.
Once opened on Whiskey Road, Starbucks will join Aiken's Kroger location and USC Aiken location, both of which will continue regular operations.
Starbucks first opened in Seattle in 1971, according to its website. Starting from just offering coffee, the cafe-style restaurant has now turned into an internationally-known chain, serving coffee, pastries, breakfast and lunch items.
Started by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle Mexican Grill first popped up with just a handful of restaurants, said its website. Now owned by the McDonald's Corp., the chain has grown to more than 500 locations known for its burritos and tacos.
Although both establishments have plans in place, the City is still dealing with water infrastructure issues along Whiskey Road.
Interim City Manager Roger LeDuc said both restaurants are aware there is a "water issue" out there and are working through "what it would cost to resolve that."
"That's going to be part of what we present on the (April) 13th, is having funds available to solve some of these infrastructure problems," LeDuc said. "It's ridiculous that you have this spaceship, mother-pod detention pond within a few hundred yards of that location, with all of the detention for stormwater, and you can't get to it. It's not a difficult solution, it's just coming up with the money to resolve that problem."
Aiken City Council will meet Monday, April 13, to vote on first reading whether to approve the 1 percent hospitality tax proposed by Council member Philip Merry. Staff have estimated the tax, which would be charged on food items or beverages bought from an establishment, would bring in around $1.2 million per year.
Staff members estimate fixing the "water issue" by Teresa's could cost somewhere in the "tens of thousands of dollars," and funds provided by the hospitality tax could help fix that problem, LeDuc said.
"It's replacing 500 feet to 600 feet of pipe," LeDuc said. "It's a very simple solution, but it's just getting the money."
Still, bringing in a Starbucks and Chipotle is "well worth it," LeDuc said.
"If you look at Chipotle or Starbucks and the revenue that will bring in, it's well worth it," LeDuc said. "We want the quality of life to be available to our citizens, but also we can't do it without having a tax base to support these things."
As new construction on Whiskey Road pops up, likely so will criticism that there aren't enough establishments in other areas of Aiken.
LeDuc said the City is looking into finding a solution to that problem, one of which includes hearing from a firm next week that specializes in collecting data from residents to find out where they eat, shop, how often and how much they spend.
"Why Whiskey Road and, say, not Richland Avenue? Well, the main thing a retailer looks at is traffic volume, and Whiskey Road in that area has (almost) 25,000 cars a day," LeDuc said. "We need that data to help with establishing what is needed in Aiken so we don't keep losing the dollars out of the county, out of the state. We just need to become smarter, and the tools are out there to do that."
Maayan Schechter is the local government reporter with Aiken Standard. Follow her on Twitter @MaayanSchechter.