What’s one more Whataburger?
A Whataburger location is proposed for 1925 Union Ave. If the restaurant is built, it will join 12 existing fast-food restaurants within a one-mile radius. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
On a typical day, student pick-up and drop-off at Midtown’s Idlewild Elementary takes — from start to finish — 35 minutes.
However, crossing guard Gloria Phillips predicts it will take 10 to 15 minutes longer once a nearby development is finished, especially if a Whataburger drive-thru comes to fruition.
In mid-August, the Memphis City Council delayed a final vote on a special-use permit for the Union Avenue development, in part due to Whataburger’s plans. A fast-food drive-thru — any fast-foot drive-thru — has been a sticking point almost since the beginning of the project, which will be located at the site of the former Memphis Police Department Traffic Division.
The land was sold in 2022, and the initial Memphis City Council conditions for the project mandated that any drive-thru restaurant on the site would have to be specifically approved by the Land Use Control Board and then the council.
Midtown’s land-use requirement also mandates the front of the restaurant must be along the Union Avenue sidewalk.
The City Council delayed a vote on the development until Sept. 10 to give the developers and neighbors in the surrounding residential area time to see if a compromise can be reached, but a large part of the issue seems to be the surrounding land uses, despite how many fast-food restaurants are already located near that stretch of Union Avenue.
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Stevie Paige
Stevie Paige is a graduate of the University of Memphis where she served as managing editor and editor-in-chief of The Daily Helmsman. A native Memphian, born to local musicians, Stevie has written for several regional magazines and news publications and has performed at venues across the city.
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