A new Starbucks coffee shop will be coming to the town of Dunkirk.

At the latest Dunkirk Town Board meeting, the board voted to approve the new business, with a few conditions attached. One condition not attached, however, is that the entrance to the plaza nearest the location become a one-way exit. That condition, which the Planning Board recommended, was not stipulated by the Town Board.

The Planning Board, along with Code Enforcement Officer Ryan Mourer, desired a one-way exit for safety reasons surrounding the Starbucks drive-thru lane. However, after Benderson Development officials determined that changing the entrance to a one-way exit would be challenging because of protections in the contracts of other businesses in the plaza, the Town Board and Benderson came up with an alternative solution.

Among the conditions the Town Board set forth attached to its approval of the Starbucks site plan were the installation of speed limit signs, turn signs, and other appropriate signage, lane markers to direct traffic, and a speed bump to deter drivers from operating vehicles at high speeds in the area.

Safety concerns were fresh on the minds of the Town Board after an incident in the same plaza resulted in the death of a pedestrian, Barbara Sam, just a week prior to the meeting. Town Supervisor Juan Pagan said, “Our condolences go out to the Sam family who had a tragic consequence at the plaza.”

Town Board member Dr. Jay Bishop commended the Planning Board for its efforts to prioritize safety in its recommendation. “I certainly applaud the planning committee’s focus on safety. I think that’s fantastic … and I think that’s something that we need to take into consideration,” Bishop said.

Bishop pondered whether appropriate signage and lines on the road would mitigate the existing safety concerns. Bishop and Town Board member Priscilla Penfold both vocalized a concern that stipulating a one-way exit would be “a deal-breaker” for the Starbucks and Benderson Development.

“I do think that it may be a deal-breaker if we hold tight to the one-way exit,” Penfold said.

Benderson representatives in attendance then suggested the installation of a speed bump, in addition to the other conditions set forth.

Pagan also thanked the Planning Board for its efforts prior to the official motion and vote. The Town Board voted unanimously to approve the Starbucks site plan, upon Board member Henry Walldorff’s motion, seconded by Jean Crane.

Now that the site plan has been approved, construction on the new Starbucks location can proceed. Starbucks will take over the current AT&T building located in the Tops plaza on Vineyard Drive. The AT&T store is expected to move to the location of GameStop in the same plaza.