Royal Purple

Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Haley Smith The KFC/A&W building has been vacant for more than a year. Owner Craig Pope has plans to convert the building into a Cousins Subs and a possible coffee shop.

Renovation of the former Kentucky Fried Chicken and A&W franchise into a combination Cousins Subs and coffee shop have once again been delayed.

Craig A. Pope of C.A. Pope Development, Inc. had originally hoped to have the building on 114 W. Main St. completed and opened by the end of 2007. The renovation is still in the planning stages even after delays changed Pope's prospective opening date to the start of second semester.

He said in a telephone interview Thursday that he is now waiting to start any renovations until negotiations are finalized with a major coffee franchise. Pope is unable to release the name of the franchise.

Pope previously spoke with owners of Starbucks and Caribou Coffee, but both companies turned down the location.

Whitewater City Planner Ryan Garcia said he has talked with Pope about the project but has not received any formal proposals yet.

Pope said he has sent the unnamed coffee franchise a proposal and several drawings of what the new Cousins and coffee shop may look like and is awaiting their reply. He said he's confident negotiations will finalize and he may be able to present a proposal to the Whitewater Plan and Architectural review Commission by February.

Pope currently owns the Cousins at 804 W. Walworth St., which is five blocks from campus. He said moving the sub shop to the new location will create a higher sales volume and more student customers.

"I'm kind of off the beaten path," he said. "It's time to put [Cousins] in a better destination."

The new location is only one block from campus, and Pope said it will be at least three times bigger than the current Cousins.

He also said he is planning to make the shop a more upscale dinning establishment compared to most other Cousins sub shops. Pope plans to completely rebuild and change the exterior and interior of the building. He said he is going to offer an ice cream menu, specialty coffee drinks, a grill to cook warm sandwiches instead of a microwave, Wi-Fi internet, plasma televisions and "maybe even a fireplace."

Pope said once the city approves the renovation, the Cousins and coffee shop will most likely be completed in 45-60 days.

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