Site plans were unanimously approved by the Planning Commission Thursday for the demolition of Long John Silvers and the construction of a new Cook Out Restaurant at 509 W. Elk. Ave.
The building facade will be a combination of stone and masonry with red accents, like other Cook Outs,said Civil Engineer Chris Clayton.
Elizabethton Director of Planning and Economic Development Jon Hartman said he expects the property to close within a week’s time, with demolition anticipated in March, leading to the potential opening of the restaurant in late summer, though he emphasized that these were only estimates.
Additionally, commissioners approved the final site plans for a 3-minute express car wash between Walmart, Captain D’s and Murphy USA.
The site plans will go before the Board of Zoning Appeals for the anticipated granting of two variances because the property does not meet the property setback or landscaping requirements.
The business will be located 10 feet from the property line, encroaching 15 feet too closely by regulation standards, and only has a 2-foot wide grass area, rather than 10. Community Planner Rhonda Sawyer said in the past, they have enforced landscape regulations in such a way that allowed for clustering of plants in spaces which did not meet width requirements, and therefore suggested the variance.
David Wild, property owner, owns two similar automated car washes in Johnson City, and four others. The location in Elizabethton will feature three pay stations with one automated car wash. He assured that at his other locations of the same size, crowding of traffic has not been a problem.
In other news, a massage therapist hopes to begin a private practice this summer, after plans are approved for a new location along Milligan Highway.
The rezoning of a 1,000 square foot home, in which Taylor Collins will house her massage therapist business, from R-1 to B-3 was approved unanimously. Collins is a massage therapist licensed in the state of Tennessee with two years of experience and 100 completed clinical hours.
The home will be used strictly for business, and will not be a residential dwelling for Collins. She said the most therapists at any given time in the future will be two, including herself. This would likely only occur if clients were to schedule a couples massage.
She currently visits clients at their homes, and said she hopes to grow her business with a permanent location. The rezoning will have to pass two readings at City Council, meaning the earliest she will be able to move forward will be April.