The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Former Denny’s site could be new drive-thru restaurant
WEST HAVEN — Before Denny’s made the decision to reduce its footprint in Connecticut, a West Haven location on Saw Mill Road provided an opportunity for travelers getting off Interstate 95 to stretch their legs and eat at the diner chain directly across from the Exit 42 exit ramp.
A Florida-based developer has filed an application announcing an intention to bring food back to the now-vacant spot, but with a major caveat: the future restaurant would have only drive-thru and pick-up options, without offering a dine-in experience.
Endurance West Haven LLC, which purchased the 487 Saw Mill Road parcel for $2.2 million earlier this year, filed an application on May 19 to tear down the vacant building and build a 2,700-square-foot drivethru restaurant to operate from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Although the proposed new building’s footprint, operating hours and projected range for opening are included in the application, Bill Baker, principal of Endurance West Haven LLC, said he does not yet know exactly what restaurant will go in the location.
“I’ve got a couple of restaurants in mind, but there’s nothing to report,” he said. “A number of restaurant companies lately have been going to strictly drive-thru without dine-in. Taco Bell has done some, Chick-fil-A has done some, Starbucks has done some.”
A Starbucks drivethru location is being developed farther down Saw Mill Road, as the company is moving a location within a strip mall to a standalone location across the parking lot that once was Stewart’s All American Grill.
In February, Baker told Hearst Connecticut Media he was considering any retail use, including medical uses. Christine Gallo, chairwoman of West Haven’s advisory Economic Development Committee, said she was grateful to hear an application was filed to keep the site as a restaurant instead of being developed for a medical use.
“I’d rather see a sitdown place just for my own preference, but depending on what it’s going to be it could bring in a lot of travelers who don’t want to spend a lot of time sitting there,” she said.
Gallo said she believes the parcel itself is a “good location” and said she notices the parking lot for the restaurant next to
the former Denny’s, DAWA Korean restaurant, often seems full.
Before the drive-thru application will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission, it must receive
approval for four variances before the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals related to the site placement of a canopy and front yard. A proposed timetable included
on the application suggests developers anticipate the former Denny’s building will be demolished around this fall and the restaurant will open in spring 2024.