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Roaring Spring is a step closer to getting two new restaurants to be built on the site of the former Bickel’s Surplus building on Nason Drive.
A hearing before the Roaring Spring Zoning Board was held on Wednesday, Aug. 8, and the board gave unanimous approval for a special exemption permit, paving the way for work to progress in bringing the two eateries to town.
The Bickel’s building had sat empty for nearly 10 years before being purchased by Snyder’s Gateway Inc. of Breezewood with plans to construct an Arby’s and Dunkin' Donuts.
Although the property is zoned commercial, a special exemption was required to build two businesses on the approximately one-acre ground that previously held just one.
In recommending the special exemption permit be granted, Code Enforcement Officer Thomas Holsinger said there is nothing in the codes that would preclude constructing two buildings on the site.
Holsinger said there is sufficient parking on the property to accommodate the two restaurants as well as drive-thru traffic.
James Bittner, one of the owners of Snyder’s Gateway said the plan is for two separate franchises, Arby’s and Dunkin Donuts, with both having sit down service as well as a drive-through. Bittner said one restaurant will have seating for 20 while the other will seat 50, although those numbers could change due to COVID-19.
“It may be tweaked to a lower number because of COVID but we will work that out,” he said.
Bittner said to bring the two restaurants to Roaring Spring, they had to get location and layout approval from the franchisers who take factors such as traffic into consideration.
Bittner said they are working with PennDOT on plans to move the entrance to the property further north on Route 36 away from the intersection. A plan, he said, PennDOT favors.
Bittner said there will also be a surface water retention pond constructed to mitigate water runoff from the restaurants as well as from adjacent properties.
Although Roaring Spring recently lost the Appvion Paper Mill, the addition of the two restaurants is continuing a period of modest growth for the borough while also ridding it of blighted or empty properties.
Last year, Spring Dam Brewery, a locally owned brewpub, renovated one blighted property and demolished another for parking on East Main Street.
Roaring Spring Borough Council President Rodney Green said bringing in new business is a boost to the borough with benefits beyond just filling a space.
“It’s another employer in the borough and it’s taking a property that was becoming a blighted property and repurposing it,” Green said. “Anytime someone wants to invest in the borough it’s great.”
Bittner didn’t give a time frame on when construction will begin but said he hopes the restaurants will be ready to open by the middle of next summer.
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