Amy’s Drive Thru diner opens
Amy’s Drive Thru is now serving up vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free renditions of classic diner food in Corte Madera.
The organic fast-food restaurant, an extension of Petalumabased Amy’s Kitchen, celebrated the opening of its second drivethru location Tuesday. The restaurant, at 5839 Paradise Drive along Highway 101 at the old Denny’s location, is the first drive-thru to operate in Corte Madera.
Founder Andy Berliner said that since the restaurant began serving last week, he has received positive feedback from the community, which had been hesitant to allow a drive-thru in town.
“It was more about the idea of cars idling,” he said. “The other thing is they wanted healthy food options and residents were worried it would attract other fastfood operations that were not as healthy. … Since we opened it’s been real smooth.”
The 4,125-square-foot building seats up to 68 diners and has 42 solar panels and 47 parking spaces with two electric car charging stations. About 4,500 cars have gone through the drive-thru since it opened Aug. 4, said Jen Tucci, a company manager.
“It’s just the right kind of community,” Tucci said. “It’s a great location, really close to the city and there is a lot of travelers. It’s a great place to be and it’s accessible to people from all over the Bay Area to come here. It’s the perfect location.”
Mayor Eli Beckman was at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday. He said the restaurant is a good fit for the town.
“Their food is healthy and sustainable,” Beckman said. “Those are two things the people of Corte Madera really value. On top of that it’s a timely opening. Not only because they are Corte Madera’s first and only drivethru, but because it’s opening now during COVID-19, which limits us from eating out but everybody still wants some comfort food. So it’s nice we have that option now.”
Previously, restaurants with a drive-thru had been banned over concerns they would change the small-town character of Corte Madera, Beckman said.
That changed in 2018 when the council voted to amend its zoning ordinance. This did not lift the drive-thru ban, but created criteria of examination for drive-thru proposals, according to town officials.
“I think Amy's being a drive-thru does not cheapen their value as a local business or the healthiness and sustainability of their food,” Beckman said.
Berliner said customer feedback while operating Amy's Kitchen for about 20 years spurred the venture to start Amy's Drive Thru five years ago. He said people in a hurry wanted a healthy fast-food option.
“We listened for years and then finally said ‘OK, we will try it,'” he said.
Corte Madera customers can also order food that is not offered at the San Francisco Airport or Rohnert Park locations.
“The menus vary a bit. What's special in Corte Madera is we added grilled cheese, sweet potato fries and smoothies,” Tucci said. “Those are all unique to this location, but the core of the menu is the same — burger, fries and shakes. Everything is vegetarian.”
Berliner said he's received complaints about not selling pizza or breakfast at the Corte Madera location. He said both will be available soon once he hires more staff and trains them to follow social distancing protocols.
He said the pandemic has affected the restaurant's operation, but it will soon offer curbside pickup and open the 98seat patio for outdoor dining for drive-thru orders later this week.
He added that starting Aug. 22, customers will be able to order and eat on the patio.
Tucci said the opening has been a success because of the drive-thru.
“In this current climate, opening a drive-thru is probably the best kind of restaurant business we could open because it allows for social distancing,” she said. “So in that respect it has been OK, but it is of course challenging. Our No. 1 priority is to keep employees and the community safe.”