GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Scooter’s Coffee is coming to Michigan and its first drive-through coffee shop will be built in Grand Rapids.

Thursday afternoon, the Grand Rapids Planning Commission approved plans to build a coffee kiosk in the parking lot of the Plainfield Plaza strip mall.

Scooter’s Coffee wants to build a 664-square-foot shop there that would only be open to its employees. Customers would use the drive-through for ordering and pickup.

“This is a rather unique concept for the city of Grand Rapids,” said Elizabeth Zeller, senior planner for the city of Grand Rapids.

Scooter’s Coffee would lease 15,000 square-feet of the lot located off Plainfield Avenue just north of I-96 on the city’s northern border. About 40 of the lot’s 316 parking spots would be lost.

“I mean, in my 40-plus years here, I’ve never seen this parking lot full. So I’m appreciative that that recognition of that underutilization is to add some color and some landscaping and a service rather than just asphalt just sitting there. On the other hand, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t create a gathering place for the neighborhood or even the people getting off the bus or on the bus, waiting for it to pick up a cup of coffee, read a newspaper or chat,” planning commission member Susan Shannon said.

Shannon said she wouldn’t vote against the proposal but she considered it was a missed opportunity. Other commissioners agreed.

Scooter’s Coffee typically serves up coffee, specialty coffee drinks and prepackaged foods including sandwiches, wraps, bagels and muffins. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company’s location traditionally operate from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The coffee chain already operates more than 300 cafes and drive-through locations nationwide, with the closest one about 150 miles away from Grand Rapids in Green Bay, Wisconsin.