DeKALB – DeKalb aldermen approved permits this week for a Culver’s restaurant with a drive-thru on DeKalb’s west side.
Jeff and Marcia Newkirk, of Plano, plan to build a Culver’s at 1262 W. Lincoln Highway.
The former Fiesta Cancun restaurant currently on the property will be demolished and replaced with the 100-seat fast-food restaurant.
“I think this offers a great opportunity,” Jeff Newkirk said during the council meeting Monday. “We’ve done a lot of studies of the demographics and traffic counts and populations. We think being close to NIU’s going to be great, not only for students as customers but for the labor force.”
The Newkirks expect to hire five managers as well as 50 to 70 part-time employees to work at the Wisconsin-based franchise. They hope to break ground on the property in mid-April and open by Aug. 1.
Before they could proceed, council members had to approve an ordinance for a special-use permit for the drive-thru and a waiver allowing the sign to be larger than permitted by city ordinance.
Jeff Newkirk explained the larger sign is necessary to display flavors of the day such as salted caramel chocolate.
The ordinance passed unanimously.