Starbucks latest business to open along bustling Orchard Road in Oswego

A Starbucks and a Valvoline oil change facility are the latest new businesses set to open along a bustling Orchard Road in Oswego.

Both businesses are expected to open by the end of December, Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty told members of the village’s Economic Development Commision during their Dec. 4 meeting. The restaurant and oil change facility are located on an outlot near the Jewel-Osco store.

“They said they wanted to be open by mid-December,” Leighty said during the meeting. “They still have a little bit of work to do, but they should definitely be open before the end of the year.”

Last year, Oswego Village Board trustees voted unanimously to approve plans for the development of a 2,540-square-foot Starbucks restaurant and a 2,087-square-foot Valvoline oil change facility along Orchard Road, just north of Route 34.

The new Starbucks location will be slightly larger than the Starbucks on Route 34 in Oswego. Trustees were told Starbucks has moved to a new prototype that will add about 300 square feet of space to the restaurant. As part of the new prototype, the outdoor patio also will be bigger.

Orchard Road continues to attract new businesses. Last year, a Beef Shack restaurant opened in the same vicinity along Orchard Road along with Whitetail Ridge Golf Dome, which is located nearby at 3360 Station Drive.

Construction of a gas station and car wash is expected to get underway next year on about 10 acres at the northeast corner of Orchard and Mill roads. At the June 11 Oswego Village Board meeting, trustees voted 4-1 to approve Gas N Wash’s plans to build a gas station, convenience store and car wash.

They also approved a special use permit for the project. At the same time, they placed several conditions on the project in response to noise and traffic concerns voiced by nearby residents.

Those conditions include requiring Gas N Wash to shut off the diesel fuel pumps from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and to have the car wash only operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The business also will have to install No Truck Parking signs.

The convenience store and gas pumps will be open 24/7. Gas N Wash also has agreed to make a $100,000 payment to the village as part of a road maintenance/improvement account for Mill Road.

Voting against the plan was village trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange.

“I’m not against a gas station, I’m concerned about truck traffic,” she said.

Village trustee Karen Novy was absent from the meeting.