OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen From left, Dunkirk Town Councilman Robert Price listens to a presentation from 7 Brew corporate representative Rebecca Brown and 7 Brew franchisee Gaurav Aggarwal at a Dunkirk Town Board meeting last fall.

Plaza 59 in the Town of Dunkirk will soon be home to the newest 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee location. Plans for the new site were approved last week by the Town of Dunkirk Planning Board.

Code Enforcement Officer Ryan Mourer believes the timeframe for 7 Brew to be open is approximately 90 days after a permit is issued. Mourer expects to issue the permit in the coming days.

“They are pretty ambitious. They want to get it going,” Mourer said.

After a recent change to the zoning laws in the town, the Planning Board has the authority to approve a project. Roughly $100,000 has already been invested in the process by 7 Brew prior to its official approval.

7 Brew will be demolishing the former Lightning Lube building, which has been vacant for many years. In its place, a prefabricated building will be installed and hooked up within days after the preparation for the site is completed.

Once it is open, 7 Brew will be the fourth coffee shop within a mile of the thruway entrance, competing with Tim Hortons, Dunkin’ Donuts and the recently opened Starbucks coffee shop on Vineyard Drive.

Plaza 59 in the Town of Dunkirk, located on Bennett Road next to the thruway entrance, has also welcomed a Popeyes restaurant and Planet Fitness gym within the past two years.

On several occasions, 7 Brew representatives flew in from out of state to attend meetings with the Town of Dunkirk to discuss plans for the new location. Rebecca Brown flew in from the corporate office in Arkansas nearly a year ago to present to the Town Board, along with 7 Brew franchisee Gaurav Aggarwal, who drove to the meeting from Cleveland, Ohio.

“We are built on cultivating kindness, so we try to pick neighborhoods that would help reflect that,” Brown said of the decision to target the Town of Dunkirk for a location.

7 Brew was founded in 2017 with a focus on providing a friendly customer experience. As stated on the company’s website, “At 7 Brew, it’s about the connections we make. We believe people are priceless, so we treat them like it. Our goal is to make your visit the happiest part of your day.”

Although the brand is focused on coffee, more than 20,000 drink combinations are available at 7 Brew, including teas, smoothies, and handcrafted sodas. Drinks can be hot, iced, or blended. Muffins are also on the menu, with future food options currently being evaluated.

At a Town Board meeting nearly a year ago, Aggarwal joked, “We are like Starbucks, but we are way cooler than Starbucks.”

7 Brew is ironing out the final details with the landlord to lease the land. Plans call for a drive-through lane and a walk-up window to order from. A year ago, representatives estimated approximately 45-50 jobs would be created by the project.

The next project on the horizon in the Town of Dunkirk is a proposal from Chipotle Mexican Grill for a location along Vineyard Drive. The plans call for a new building to be constructed in the parking lot of the same plaza that hosts TJ Maxx and Harbor Freight.

Chipotle’s proposal has been submitted to Mourer for review, with a meeting with the Town of Dunkirk Planning Board scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Dunkirk Town Hall. The meeting will be Chipotle’s first presentation of plans to the Town of Dunkirk Planning Board.