Photo by Howard Owens.
There are a few things you probably can get done without leaving your car during lunch: cashing a check at the bank drive-thru, buying a burger and fries at a fast-food place, and, of course, getting your car washed.
What about an oil change while you’re at it? Peter Pavek of Quattro Development explained the concept of just that service offered by Take 5 Oil Change during Tuesday’s City Planning and Development Committee meeting.
Pavek represented an owner of the latest Take 5 to go at the corner of West Main Street and Lewiston Road, at the entrance of Valu Plaza.
“We began in Louisiana and have been expanding pretty rapidly,” Pavek said. “There are a couple in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, in the major cities, and we’re targeting Amherst, Tonawanda and Lockport, and now Batavia.”
The service is a 15-minute oil change. There’s no waiting area, and you don’t even leave your vehicle. Plans are to demolish the current building that formerly housed a bank with a drive-thru, a coin and jewelry exchange, and a mobile phone office. Services are primarily oil changes and replacing filters and wiper blades.
Code Enforcement Officer Doug Randall said that per zoning, they would rather see three bays and asked if the company would be good with that; Pavel agreed.
Given the minimal use for a waiting area, there’s also no use for many parking spaces, and Pavek said they could reduce the parking spots and add to the green space.
“Any additional green space you can maintain, that’d be great,” committee member Ed Flynn said.
The sites typically get 50 vehicles per day, with variations of busiest times throughout the day — mid-morning and especially at 3 p.m. reaching peak times, according to company data.
The committee gave a preliminary thumbs up, with instructions to return with a detailed site plan.
