New Starbucks replacing kiosk shop in Lombard

The miniature size of the Lombard Starbucks makes it an anomaly in the suburbs.

Java junkies get their fix only by using the drive-through in a building that has just enough room for servers.

But a new shop planned for the same Roosevelt Road location will allow patrons to actually sit and sip their brew inside a full-service cafe.

Developers have won village approval to build a 2,200-square-foot Starbucks with a 550-square-foot outdoor dining area in a shopping center anchored by Hobby Lobby.

Replacing the Starbucks kiosk with a stand-alone store has been more than a decade in the making, Community Development Director William Heniff said.

The village board and plan commission in 2008 reviewed a similar project that called for a completely new building.

"With the recession, Starbucks as a corporate decision decided not to proceed," Heniff said. "Fast forward to now, they want to go forward with their full prototype."

The counterclockwise circulation of the drive-through for the new Starbucks will provide the required eight stacking spaces with additional room for cars to line up within the parking lot, a plan commission report notes.

"But the good thing about it is none of the stacking and queuing is going to go up onto Roosevelt Road, so it shouldn't cause any traffic issues," Heniff said.

It's not yet clear when demolition of the existing kiosk will begin. A Starbucks spokeswoman did not immediately return a message Monday. Marc Blum, president and chief operating officer of Next Realty, the Skokie-based real estate firm that owns the property, also did not return a call.

"With this approval, they are now getting ready to go out to bid on the project, and we'll have a better idea as the summer progresses as far as an actual construction start," Heniff said.

Starbucks has occupied the shop - formerly a Caffino drive-through espresso bar - since October 1999.