Former Corfu restaurant in St. Charles to be razed to make way for bigger convenience store and gas station, better traffic circulation

Aldermen Monday night will review plans to tear down the former Corfu restaurant in order to replace a gas station at the northeast corner of Main Street and Dunham Road as well as to improve traffic circulation.

The plans will be brought before aldermen at the City Council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting. Plan commissioners reviewed the plans at their meeting Tuesday and made several suggestions, including that the developer consider eliminating the south cross-access point between Circle K and Franky’s Red Hots because of traffic conflict and stacking concerns and to look into widening the northern exit onto Dunham Road, where a Taco Bell is located, to accommodate a separate left and right-turn exit lane and an entry lane.

KFP Associates owns six lots at the northeast corner of Main Street and Dunham Road totaling about 3.5 acres. KFP Family Associates and RDK Ventures LLC (Circle K) are proposing to develop the property with a new gas station and convenience store.

Plans are to demolish the current Circle K building and former Corfu restaurant building and build a new gas station with eight pumps and a 4,700 square foot retail and convenience store. As part of the plans, the number of existing curb cuts on East Main Street would be reduced from seven to three and the number of curbs on Dunham Road would be reduced from three to two.

“We see the potential here and we’re willing to make a considerable investment in redeveloping this site,” Tony Sgarlata, director of real estate at Circle K, told plan commissioners.