December 24, 2024
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Montgomery gives final approval for first Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Kendall County

By John Etheredge
Customers Sue Wolfsmith (from right), Christine Wolfsmith, George Terpska and Sharon Terpska sit down for lunch Friday at Tropical Smoothie Café in Huntley.

FILE PHOTO: Customers Sue Wolfsmith (from right), Christine Wolfsmith, George Terpska and Sharon Terpska sit down for lunch at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in northwest suburban Huntley. The Montgomery Village Board has given its final approval for Tropical Smoothie Cafe to locate at the southwest corner of Orchard Road and Route 30. (Kyle Grillot)

The Montgomery Village Board has given its final approval for plans to open a Tropical Smoothie Cafe at the southwest corner of Route 30 and Orchard Road.

The Village Board approved a special use amendment as part of their consent agenda Oct. 24 that will allow the cafe developers to install a customer drive-thru lane on the north end of the multi-tenant retail building at 2001 Orchard Road.

The village’s Planning and Zoning Commission previously voted to approve a recommendation in support of the amendment.

Sonya Abt, the village’s community development director, told board members Oct. 10 that another existing tenant in the building, AT&T, is downsizing its space, which has freed up room for the cafe at the north end of the building.

Abt said the developers requested the amendment since the original development agreement for the retail building did not allow any drive-thru windows on the building’s facades that face either Orchard Road or Route 30.

As now approved, the amendment will allow the developers to install a drive-thru window on the building’s north wall facing Route 30 with enough room in the drive-thru lane for two vehicle stacking spaces.

Abt said that village ordinance requires restaurant drive thrus to have six vehicle stacking spaces, but the developers do not expect the proposed drive thru with its reduced number of stacking spaces will pose a problem.

Abt said that cafe staff will instruct customers with larger orders to park their vehicles in the adjoining parking lot and their orders will be brought to their vehicles.

The Tropical Smoothie Cafe would be the first to locate in Kendall County. The franchise restaurant already operates cafes throughout the Chicago suburbs, including in Aurora and Geneva.