A proposed fast-casual restaurant with a drive-thru would replace a planned retail and office building at the former Metcalf South Mall site in Overland Park.

The Overland Park Planning Commission voted 9-0 on Monday, Nov. 9, to approve a revised development plan for the parcel at 97th Street and Metcalf Avenue. The Johnson County Post reported the vote. The approval swaps a previously approved 7,500-square-foot retail and office building for a 3,400-square-foot drive-thru restaurant.

The restaurant's name has not been disclosed. Owner Kenny Xiao described it as "a family restaurant" with an "Asian food focus" and called it "a new concept," according to the Johnson County Post. Xiao's company, Royal Investment Group, operates restaurants in Blue Springs and Warrensburg, Missouri. Box Development is handling the project.

The drive-thru lane would wrap around the east, north and west sides of the building, according to the city staff report. The drive-thru would initially serve mobile-order pickups without an order box at first. If one is installed later, it must include volume control under the approval's conditions.

The commission granted a deviation allowing the drive-thru order box within 200 feet of residentially zoned property. The box would sit about 65 feet from the adjacent property line but more than 200 feet from the nearest apartment building, the Thompson Thrift apartments to the east. The applicant said a row of junipers would screen the drive-thru from view.

"I personally don't have a problem with this," Commissioner Jenna Reyes said, pointing to other drive-thrus and auto-centric uses already at the corner. Commissioner Chris Staus was absent from the meeting. Commissioner Holly Streeter-Schaefer was present but did not participate in this vote.

Drive-thru pattern diverges from city's corridor plan

The approval adds to a pattern that has frustrated city leaders for years. The former Metcalf South Mall site has redeveloped piecemeal since the final store closed in 2017, producing a cluster of single-story drive-thru restaurants and a gas station along Metcalf, the Johnson County Post reported. Multi-story housing has gone up at the back of the site, away from the main road.

That is not what Vision Metcalf, the city's long-range plan for the corridor, envisioned. Adopted in 2008, Vision Metcalf identifies the area around 95th Street and Metcalf as a "prime location for commercial and office activity" suited for mixed-use development with housing and walkability. Concept art in the plan shows dense, mid-rise buildings fronting Metcalf.

City officials and planning commissioners have voiced discomfort with the growing number of drive-thru eateries in the area. During a 2024 review of a different application, Streeter-Schaefer likened Metcalf to a "fast-food haven," the Johnson County Post reported.

City staff also raised alignment concerns in March 2025 when reviewing incentives for a mini-golf entertainment concept near 95th and Metcalf, according to the Johnson County Post's coverage at the time. Staff said the broader redevelopment had lacked a cohesive plan.

The revised plan reduces total commercial space on the wider development site from 42,497 square feet to 38,377 square feet. City staff estimated the restaurant would add 318 vehicle trips per weekday compared with the previous office plan, but said the surrounding road network can handle the increase.

What comes next

The Nov. 9 vote approved only a preliminary development plan. The Planning Commission must still approve a final development plan before a building permit can be issued. No opening timeline has been announced.