Barrington residents rally support for service station

Opposition builds against proposed fast food restaurant

Posted 7/11/18

Patricia Mundy signed the list, and so did Bill Anderson. 

Lindsey Brickle signed it, and Bob Smith was more than happy to sign it.

In all, nearly 30 people have signed their names to a …

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Barrington residents rally support for service station

Opposition builds against proposed fast food restaurant

Posted

Patricia Mundy signed the list, and so did Bill Anderson. 

Lindsey Brickle signed it, and Bob Smith was more than happy to sign it.

In all, nearly 30 people have signed their names to a list preaching their support for the BP Gas station and repair shop on County Road, and their hope that it is not replaced by a fast food restaurant with a drive-through window. 

"I'm fully against the fast food restaurant," said Mr. Smith, who has lived in town 39 years. "We don't need that in Barrington. I don't eat too much of that crap anyway. I haven't stopped at a fast food restaurant in years. To me, that's junk food."

Mr. Smith further explained that bringing a fast food restaurant to Barrington "will change the character of the neighborhood."

He also said that the BP station is important to Barrington — it is one of only two gas stations in town.

"You can't leave just one gas station," Mr. Smith said. "You'd get no competition. The town needs it. The town needs an inspection station."

A little more than a month ago, news broke that Getty Realty, which owns the property where the BP Gas station and repair shop are located, had plans to replace the service station with a fast food restaurant. 

The plans call for a 2,405-square-foot restaurant with off-street parking and a drive-through window. The plans are not clear as to what restaurant chain is being proposed, and town officials say they have been kept in the dark too.

It could be a McDonalds or a Burger King or even a Tim Hortons or Popeye's Chicken. No one in town is quite sure. 

"My rep doesn't even know," said Wendy Wajda. 

For the last 17 years, Wendy and her husband Kenny have operated the BP Gas station and repair shop on County Road. The Wajdas grew up in town, graduated from Barrington High School, and believe they provide a vital service for folks. Only after the plan was submitted to the town's technical review committee for a "concept review" did Ms. Wajda first learn about the proposed restaurant. 

Ms. Wajda said she and her husband had previously held a multi-year lease agreement with Cross America, which manages dozens of properties owned by Getty Realty, but that deal expired in January. After that, the company moved to a month-to-month lease. Ms. Wajda said she questioned her representative from Cross America.

"They said they had no idea" the restaurant was being proposed, said Ms. Wajda. 

For the last month or so, Kenny and Wendy have been scrambling, trying to find out more information about the proposal. They have called the architect who drew up the plans for the new restaurant.

"I was told that they signed a confidentiality agreement with the developer that asked them to draw it up," said Ms. Wajda. 

They have also been trying to prepare for the July 12 meeting of the Barrington Technical Review Committee. That's the board that will complete the "concept review."

"I plan on making a speech," Ms. Wajda said. "I guess… I am a little nervous."

Ms. Wajda also plans on creating two online (and in-person) petitions voicing opposition to the fast food restaurant. One of the petitions will be for residents in Barrington and the other will be for businesses. 

A fast food restaurant would not be good for the residential abutters to the property, said Ms. Wajda, and it would not be good for the other locally-owned shops and restaurants in downtown Barrington. 

If the town approves a special use permit for the drive-through it would mark the first time ever for such an allowance in Barrington. To date, the only businesses in town with drive-through windows are banks, which offer different hours of operation than most restaurants.

Ms. Wajda said the town would be wise to deny the special use permit — granting it would be opening a can of worms.

"It just does not fit," she said. "They are going to take everything they tried to build in town, and they're going to try to turn it into another Route 6. Once that happens, how are you going to say no to anyone else?"

Dave Monti is a longtime customer at the BP station and he does not like the idea of allowing a fast food restaurant with a drive-through window at the County Road location.

"Absolutely not…I think it's a bad idea," said Mr. Monti. "We need to keep the station. For now, and forever."

'They are great people'

People across town have grown to appreciate the BP station.

Barrington resident Dan Johnson said it was Jan. 2014 and he was driving to the airport for a business flight to Chicago. The temperature in Chicago was 20-below, and in Barrington it was near zero. 

Mr. Johnson needed to fill his gas tank for the trip to the airport, so he swung his car into the BP station and braced for the bitter chill. 

That's when he saw an elderly woman pull her car up to a pump at the self-serve island, but before she could climb out of her car and into the biting cold air, the station attendant — a man named Armando — hustled out of the office to help the woman. He pumped the gas and rubbed his hands to keep them warm, while the woman waited inside her warm car.

While describing the scene, Mr. Johnson paused: "Is there a word for kindness or a selfless act when no one is watching?"

Mr. Smith said that is just how Armando is. 

"I've known Armando since the late 70s and he takes care of people."

Ms. Wajda said that is the type of service she and her employees pride themselves on. 

"There is no other station that can replicate the service we provide," she said. "Everything we cater to: our free air, Armando helps people blow up their pool toys. They pull up with the pool toys strapped to the roofs of their cars. That's what makes us more of a family business."

Ms. Wajda said she and her husband are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their shop open, but she would like some assurances that if the town rejects the proposed restaurant, the property's owner will commit to a long-term lease.

Ms. Wajda said she told her Cross America rep that "I just need to know that if I fight this fight that if town doesn't approve it, that you'll just pick us up."

Ms. Wajda said her Cross America rep told her that they had plans to improve the BP station on County Road — new gas pumps, a new three-bay garage, and maybe even a new convenience store and coffee shop.

Jordan Sheff said he hopes the town rules against the proposed drive-through restaurant. 

"The BP is part of the community," he said. "They know me by name when I go there."

Mr. Sheff said it was a few years ago that he was about to drive down to New York to visit his father who was sick. Mr. Sheff loaded up into his car, but had not made it out of town when he realized he had a flat tire — a nail had punctured it. 

Mr. Sheff pulled his car onto the BP lot, preparing for a repair job that, at some places, can take the better part of an afternoon. The delay would surely cut into the amount of time he would be able to spend with his father. 

"Armando fixed it right then and there," said Mr. Sheff. 

"They are great people." 

Earlier efforts

The current proposal to bring a drive-through restaurant to Barrington is not the first of its kind. 

Mr. Smith said he can recall prior efforts to bring Big Macs and Quarter-pounders to this community. Decades ago, said Mr. Smith, someone pitched the idea of putting a McDonalds at the corner of Maple Avenue and County Road where the old Crossed Sabers (currently the AAA office) was located. 

"The town said 'No way,'" recalled Mr. Smith.

There was also a well-documented fight by a developer to open a McDonalds just a block away on County Road, on the property currently home to a Webster Bank branch.

The developer pitched the plan for a drive-through lane and pick-up window, but after months of meetings and discussions, the town denied the request. Inside the town hall, there is a folder containing all the documents detailing the battle over the proposed drive-through.

Ms. Wajda was still in high school when that earlier proposal was defeated. She said she is glad Barrington's downtown has never succumbed to the pressures of neon-lit signs, menu boards and noisy squawk-boxes.

"Go to Route 6 or go to Warren. You don't need it here," she said. 

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