Patton Township Planning Commission on Monday unanimously recommended approval for a Mediterranean restaurant chain to construct a drive-thru as part of its first Centre County location.
Cava plans to build a 2,500-square-foot restaurant and associated infrastructure on a 3.16-acre lot at the northeast corner of the Patton Crossing development along North Atherton Street. The fast-casual chain also plans to include a drive-thru lane for phone and online order pick-up, said Tony Fruchtl of project engineer PennTerra.
The Patton Crossing development is zoned MXD-2 mixed use, which requires a conditional use permit for drive-thrus, according to Jenna Wargo, the principal planner for the Centre Regional Planning Authority who handles planning services for the township.
A conditional use is a use that can be considered suitable for a zoning district if certain additional requirements are met. Because the MXD-2 district includes a mix of planned commercial and residential uses, a drive-thru could cause conflicts if not addressed up front, Wargo said.
“That’s why the drive-through is part of the conditional use. With these conditions, the hours of operation for the drive-thru, etc., it’s to ease those conflicts with those uses that may not be in line,” Wargo said.
Cava’s plan meets all of the prescribed conditions and a review by traffic, zoning and planning staff found no additional conditions would be required.
The Board of Supervisors must still approve the conditional use permit, and a land development plan also must be approved before construction can move forward.
According to township ordinance, conditions in MXD-2 zoning include that the drive-thru can only operate between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., it must be “sited to minimize disturbance to adjacent residential uses and all related buildings, lanes and drive aisles,” and it cannot “compromise pedestrian convenience, safety or detract from the overall walkability of the development.”
The drive-thru must be constructed so that it does not overflow into adjacent streets, parking areas or drive aisles. It must be shielded to eliminate headlight glare into adjoining properties and roads, and the vehicle stacking lane must be a minimum of 20 feet in length.
Cava’s planned location, on the opposite side of the entrance driveway from Aldi, is “tucked into the corner” of the development’s perimeter, Fruchtl noted, with a wall already constructed along the North Atherton Street side.
“By putting it on the corner there it kind of eliminates conflicts. It eliminates crossroads from other traffic and pedestrians,” Fruchtl said.
Perimeter plantings are already in place along the wall and more are planned, providing screening to prevent headlight glare, he added.
Fruchtl also explained that it is not a “true drive-thru,” as it only can be used for picking up advance orders.
“While it does fit under the category of drive-thru per the ordinance, this is a pick-up window,” he said. “This is for call-ahead or order online and pick up window. So it won’t have the stacking that a normal drive-thru has. There’s no order point for this lane. Ten cars can stack without interfering with anything, no pedestrians, no parking, no vehicle movements.”
Most Cava customers dine inside the restaurant,
The planned restaurant would be accessed via the Patton Crossing entry boulevard and Meridian Street. Plans show 40 parking spaces.
As part of the land development plan review, Fruchtl said a stop sign will be added at the end of the drive-thru lane to avoid conflict with vehicles pulling into or out of nearby ADA parking spaces. He added that a modification of the drive-thru’s alignment is also being evaluated.
Wargo said that a conditional use permit stays with the property, so while the drive-thru plan is appropriate for Cava, should the restaurant close in the future it could be replaced by a business with a higher traffic volume.
The conditional use permit application is expected to be introduced to the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, with a public hearing planned for February.
Cava opened its first restaurant in 2010 in Maryland and now has more than 340 locations in 26 states. In Pennsylvania, it has nine restaurants, all in the eastern half of the state and most in the Philadelphia area.
The chain’s menu features a wide variety of bowls, pitas, dips and beverages.
Its planned Patton Township location is part of phase 2 of the 30-acre Patton Crossing development. The master plan for the development includes multiple phases to be built out over about 20 years with restaurants, retail, a hotel and residential buildings. Aldi, which opened in 2021 and was the first of nearly 20 buildings planned.
A plan for a bank was previously approved as part of phase 2, but it has not been built.
