Garden Road residents heard plans to expand a California Keg & Liquor store with two offices and two take-out restaurants at a neighborhood meeting Tuesday at Poway City Council Chambers.
Architect Kit Ashley shared information about the project on behalf of the liquor store’s owner Roben Mansur.
The meeting was called as part of the minor development review process Mansur is going through to get approval to demolish a residence on the property at the corner of Garden Road and Claire Drive.
“The idea is that the little house behind the liquor store will be demolished and everything on that property will be taken away,” Ashley told about 50 attendees at the meeting.
After the demolition, the space behind the liquor store will accommodate a 3,776-square-foot addition to the 2,040-square-foot liquor store, he said.
The California Keg & Liquor structure at 14251 Garden Road will remain the same, but Mansur is proposing to expand it by adding two 667-square-foot offices and two 788-square-foot take-out-only restaurants.
Ashley of Poway-based CCA/Architects said the new one-story building would face Claire Drive while the liquor store faces Garden Road. Additional storage space would be added behind the new building, he said.
Mansur said he envisions adding a taco shop and pizza parlor in the spaces, although no definite arrangements have been made for the businesses that will occupy the building.
A few attendees expressed concerns about increased traffic at the additional businesses as well as parking availability.
Ashley said the two offices would generate minimal traffic and that eateries would likely open about 10 a.m. or later, after the morning school traffic is over. He said 22 parking spaces are required for the site and they plan to provide 23 spaces.
Mansur said the liquor store’s former owner lived in the home on the property while running the business. He purchased the store in 2011 and the rest of the property in 2016.
He said he has spent 2 1/2 years on the project and hopes to start construction “as soon as possible.”
Julie Procopio, Poway’s director of Development Services, said the project is being evaluated to ensure it complies with land use requirements and city codes.
“This is the first opportunity for the community to provide and we will incorporate that into the project,” Procopio said.
City staff will continue to review the building permit plans and if there are no major community concerns, the Minor Development Review could be approved istratively by staff instead of through a City Council hearing, Procopio said.
Obtaining building permits for the construction could take several months or longer, she added.
Mansur said he would like to share a percentage of profits from the take-out restaurants with Garden Road Elementary School down the street, since he has four nephews and three nieces who attend the school.
