PZC Considers Enfield’s First Dedicated EV Stop with Retro-Modern Cafe

Site plan

Enfield drivers may soon have a new place to charge their cars — and fill their stomachs — if a new proposal is approved.

A developer has filed plans to build Enfield’s first dedicated electric vehicle (EV) charging plaza combined with a cafe at 1561 King Street. The vacant lot is near I-91 and just south of New Day Church, formerly the Namco building.

The proposal, submitted by Global Development LLC for SunEV in Suffield, would create 21 EV charging spaces, including two accessible spaces. Most of the chargers would be covered by solar carports that generate on-site electricity for vehicle charging.

While the town already has some EV charging — including Tesla chargers at the Big Y shopping plaza — this would be Enfield’s first stand-alone EV charging plaza designed specifically as a rest stop, complete with its own cafe.

Retro cafe design

Bob Patrick, the owner of SunEV, told the Planning and Zoning Commission that their approach to EV charging is a little different.

"We try to put something there that people can use, which is a cafe. And we also try to use alternative energy as much as possible," said Patrick at the commission meeting. The structures will have solar panels on them, he said.

The site would also include a 1,500-square-foot building with cafe seating, a kitchen, and restrooms. The cafe design was described as “retro-modern, a modern-day sock hop,” with a feel reminiscent of a 1950s drive-in diner.

The cafe will "look like something you might have driven up to and had a milkshake and a burger in the 50s," said Dante Boffi, the architect on the project, at the commission meeting.

What's next

The PZC tabled it pending more information on the site plan and landscaping.

Commissioners had some preliminary questions about fire safety. The Fire Department has asked for a hydrant and may add other conditions once technical details are reviewed. The commission isn’t meeting in August, which means if this project doesn’t return in July, it will have to be heard again in September.

Cafe layout