St. Paul could limit new fast food drive-thrus as planners discuss zoning changes

Drive-thru options for snagging a late-night Big Mac or Nachos Bell Grande in St. Paul may soon be limited.

On Friday, the St. Paul Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss a recommendation to Mayor Melvin Carter and the City Council that could potentially lead to a ban on new fast food and coffee shop drive-thrus, an effort to improve pedestrian friendliness, safety and other livability issues.

The proposal comes five years after a similar prohibition on new fast food drive-thrus was adopted in Minneapolis.

If the St. Paul changes are ultimately approved, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area could be the first major metropolis, not including its suburbs, to fully outlaw newly built fast food and coffee drive-thrus.

There have been other bans in smaller cities like Annapolis, Md., and San Luis Obispo, Calif., as well as a growing number of drive-thru restrictions in certain areas of major cities like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Advocates and St. Paul city planning staff say eateries with drive-thru windows can result in long lines of cars that add to congestion and pollution. But local fast food operators and business groups argue the restrictions would limit options for customers and push business out of St. Paul.

Tim Stoddard, 45, of Farmington, uses the drive-thru at Taco Bell on Snelling Avenue north of University Avenue most weekdays during his lunch break.

“I got to get back to work,” Stoddard said, as he scarfed down a soft taco in his car. “I don’t got time to sit inside.”

He would rather grab food in his car than go into restaurant dining rooms where “you don’t know who you are going to have to deal with.”

But St. Paul city staffers say drive-thrus can spawn a host of problems.

A city planning study discussed in March showed nearly 80 drive-thrus in St. Paul, with about half occupied by restaurants and a couple coffee shops. The rest belonged to banks and a small amount of pharmacies.

The report noted drive-thrus can cause long lines that can trail off-site, block traffic and impair pedestrian safety. Drive-thrus also contribute pollution and noise, city staff found.

The Starbucks coffee shop at the busy Snelling and Marshall Avenue intersection ― dubbed “Carbucks” or “Snarshall” by some ― became notorious for its drive-thru after opening in 2016. It generated long lines of cars that would block traffic and create dangerous conditions for pedestrians.

In 2019, former Republican Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch was struck and injured by a car pulling out of the Snelling and Marshall Starbucks as she walked by. The drive-thru was replaced in 2022 with an outdoor patio.

Starbucks proactively made changes to its restaurant, but there’s nothing in the city zoning code that could prevent a similar urban planning nightmare, said city planner Bill Dermody.

“The code was never fixed,” he said.

Another drive-thru that has sparked criticism is the Taco Bell on Snelling Avenue, Dermody said. Some residents have complained about the noise, littering and other unwanted behavior associated with the location.

“Drive-thrus require an immense amount of land and land that is paved. ... I don’t think that’s an efficient use of a very valuable resource,” said Luke Hanson, co-chair of the board for Sustain St. Paul, a city group which pushes for sustainable land use.

The city’s study first focused on limiting drive-thrus in certain zones of St. Paul, but discussions evolved into a citywide ban for new construction. Existing fast-food establishments would still be allowed to operate. New banks and pharmacy drive-thrus, which were found to have fewer negative impacts on “pedestrian-oriented development,” would still be allowed with some restrictions.

The city is also considering requiring businesses to provide walk-up or interior service during the same hours as a drive-thru operates. Some restaurants lock their dining rooms and provide walk-up windows or small counters in addition to their drive-thru windows.

Twin Cities franchisees and business advocacy groups have already voiced their concerns about the potential drive-thru restrictions to the planning commission.

Over 80% of Taco Bell transactions in St. Paul are done via drive-thru windows, according to Zach Zelickson, vice president of Marvin Development, which develops Taco Bell restaurants for Border Foods. A ban on new drive-thrus could limit what can be done with existing restaurants and make customers travel to locations outside the city, he said. In 2022, Border Foods opened a futuristic Taco Bell Defy location with four drive-thru lanes in Brooklyn Park.

“We believe that drive-thrus play a vital role in serving the needs of our communities across Minnesota,” Angie Whitcomb, CEO of Hospitality Minnesota, which represents the state’s hospitality businesses, said in a statement. Drive-thrus provide convenience for busy customers and contribute to the safety of fast food workers, particularly duing late-night hours, she said.

Drive-thrus have been synonymous with America’s fast-food culture since the concept became mainstream in the 1970s. During the pandemic, drive-thrus became even more important, allowing consumers to grab food while COVID-19 restrictions shut down many restaurant dining rooms.

Besides traditional fast food operations, other fast casual restaurants such as Chipotle have begun to add drive-thru lanes.

According to a study released this year by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, drive-thrus are critical for many businesses. Average monthly visits to studied stores with drive-thrus were down a little more than 4% in December 2022 (post-pandemic) compared to December 2019 (pre-pandemic). However, traffic at stores without drive-thrus declined about 48%.

“The downside of drive-thrus in urban area like downtown are obvious,” Sunil Chopra, an operations management professor who helped lead the Northwestern study, said in an interview. “But it is important to recognize that not having a drive-thru comes with downsides for the business.”