Mangles Corner Store to get a drive-thru after years of pushback

The owners of Mangles Corner Store are thrilled to finally get the green light to build a coffee drive-thru at the back of their store.

The City of Bunbury approved the measures on Tuesday night during a council meeting in which councillors debated if the drive-thru would cause traffic issues.

The issue has been under council supervision for nearly a decade with the previous council giving the go-ahead in 2016, but backing down after laws were changed regarding where drive-thru’s are allowed.

The report before the council recommended the drive-thru not be put in place as it would cause too much congestion in a residential area.

Cr Karen Turner supported the report, saying “pedestrians and residents would suffer” from the drive-thru’s extra traffic.

Full Of Beanz on Sandridge Road in Bunbury was used as an example of how busy a drive-thru coffee shop can get and how much congestion on the roads a similar model could cause.

But Cr Michelle Steck pointed out Minninup Road — where the corner store is located — is not as busy as Sandridge Road and would not cause as many traffic issues.

Cr Gabi Ghasseb brought up the argument that the council should be supporting smaller food retailers in today’s economic climate.

“Do we know how hard it is to run a family business ... against the likes of Coles and Woolworths in this day and age?” he said.

The vote carried in favour of Mangles Corner Store 7-3 with the majority of the council choosing to support the small business.

Store owner Pauline Fiore said the store needed the drive-thru to save the business and provide “economic growth”.

The Mangles Corner Store has had a rough few years, dealing with both COVID-19 lockdowns and a car crashing through the front of the store in 2019.

Mrs Fiore said she and her husband Frank had been fighting for the drive-thru for “decades” and it was what they needed to “support our amazing staff”.