Tuesday, April 4th’s P&Z commission agenda notes that the application from Verdad Real Estate for a Shake Shack at 1205 East Putnam Ave Riverside has been withdrawn.
John Heagney, representing Shake Shack, went before the P&Z commission last October with the proposal for a 3,047 square foot single story eatery to operate with 53 indoor seats and 24 outdoor seats. Today there is a residential house on the property, which is zoned LB. It is between Pet Pantry and McDonald’s.
On Monday attorney Heagney declined to comment on why the application was withdrawn.
According to Hey Stamford, in addition to a Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, there may be a Shake Shack in the works for 64 High Ridge Rd in the Bulls Head section of that city. That has not been confirmed.
Shake Shack is known for its all-natural burgers, flat-top dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more.
Today the nearest Shake Shack to Greenwich is in Darien.
Some of the concerns of the commission included the proposed location itself. In particular, the ingress/egress is close to the heavily trafficked intersection with Neil Lane and I95 Exit 5. The I95 interchange is the highest trafficked exit in Greenwich because both north and southbound traffic both come through the same traffic light, and there is a history of crashes.
There was a lot of discussion about how a left turn out of Shake Shack onto East Putnam Ave would be problematic because of the median and double-yellow lines. Also, exiting out the back of the property onto Neil Lane would not be allowed. Per the town regulations, when a commercial use has frontage on a main road it cannot exit out to the residential neighborhood.
There had also been a lengthy discussion of whether Shake Shack was Fast Food establishment or a Restaurant.
At the time Attorney Heagney said the applicant wants Shake Shack to be considered a Restaurant and noted they would offer alcohol service, which requires a restaurant with at least 20 seats and 18 parking spaces. Fast Food restaurants have a higher *parking requirement than Restaurants.
Lastly, there was significant concern from neighbors in the residential neighborhood that includes Neil Lane behind the proposed Shake Shack, including fear that patrons of the eatery would loop around through their street to get back on I95.
