He owns the cafe with his wife, Perlita.
“I want to take this whole corner and just change it,” Willie said.
The couple filed a conditional use application with the City of Dayton Board of Zoning Appeals in late March to turn the current building on the South James H McGee Blvd. property into a convenient and carryout store.
The 3,036-square-foot building on the property was a former church/place of worship, according to the zoning administration. Willie said he previously rented the building out to people, but it has now sat vacant for a little while.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved the conditional use application with conditions during a public hearing on April 26.
Conditions include updating the site plan to depict accurate existing site conditions; provide street trees to city standards along South James H McGee Blvd. in the front lawn area; relocate a dumpster and enclosure to the south behind the building and shift parking to maintain a 5-foot setback at the north; pave, seal and stripe the parking area to city standards; and have new signage to comply with city standards.
According to the application, the couple may build a drive-thru in the future. There are no plans for seating proposed in the application, but Willie said he hopes to add seating for customers in the future.
“We know that this would bring jobs to the community and would make a difference in this area as it would give people another choice and variety of goods,” the couple wrote in the application.
Willie said he is excited to bring something new to the West Dayton area and would like to thank everyone that has helped him so far in this process.
We will update this story with more information as it arises.
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