7 Brew Coffee Fails To Redevelop Long John Silver, Now Seeks 2nd Joliet Location

JOLIET, IL — Two years after the Joliet City Council approved a drive-thru permit to allow the 7 Brew Drive-Thru Coffee company to tear down the shuttered Long John Silver on Joliet's West Jefferson Street, the Long John Silver sits empty because 7 Brew has stalled.

On Tuesday night, representatives from 7 Brew will return to the Joliet City Council Chambers, this time, urging city officials to approve a second drive-thru permit location for their company even though their first project still has not happened.

According to the Council agenda, 7 Brew informed city officials in mid-April they now want to build a new drive-up coffee shop at 2545 Plainfield Road. The proposal calls for a tiny building of only 515 square feet, a 247-square-foot remote cooler, a parking lot and parking spaces.

"Employees serve customers in the 7Brew drive-through directly at their vehicle windows. This allows two drive-through lanes to operate at all times, as customers are not required to pull up directly in front of a service window," a letter on behalf 7 Brew informed Joliet. " No ordering stations with speakers are proposed, as employees will take orders directly in the queuing line with handheld devices ... We are requesting that the application be taken to the next available City Council meeting."

Joliet City Public Works Director Greg Ruddy has sent a letter to the Council urging them to vote in favor of the drive-thru permit. The proposed development involves construction of a new building on a vacant outlot within the Millenium Square Subdivision, Ruddy explained.

As for the empty Long John Silver on West Jefferson Street, Joliet Patch interviewed City Hall officials in early March for a project update since the 7 Brew project has yet to happen. The City Council approved the Long John Silver redevelopment in the summer of 2023.

“Very much a live project," responded Dustin Anderson, Joliet's director of community development. Anderson said that 7 Brew submitted permits in February "and we have provided them with some comments on necessary revisions. They are reviewing those now and we look forward to working with them.”