Millerton: More coffee? Dunkin' thinks maybe

MILLERTON — Think there are enough coffee joints in the village of Millerton? Well, think again, because by the end of the winter there may be a Dunkin’ Donuts for java junkies and doughnut addicts alike on the Millerton-Salisbury border.

"We have an application pending before the building department for a Dunkin’ Donuts," said attorney and landowner Robert Trotta recently. "I would be developing it."

Trotta estimates that it will take two to three months for the Planning Board to give the nod and for construction to begin. By winter, he said, most of the building’s interior work can be finished. The site, between the Grand Union and the CVS, is roughly a third of an acre and the stand-alone building will be about 2,500 square feet.

The land and the building will be owned by Trotta, who will lease them to Dunkin’ Donuts. He also owns the plaza that is home to the grocery, liquor and furniture stores and he owns the land where a building is under construction for a jewelry shop owned by his daughter, Elizabeth.

Trotta said he’s trying to keep the area from looking like a standard strip plaza.

"I think aesthetically it’s nice to have stand-alone buildings and walkways as opposed to what you normally see in strip centers, which is why we put a lot of green around it," Trotta said.

To make the entire area more walkable, Trotta said he’s likely to connect CVS to the Grand Union so people can move from one area to another without going on the highway.

He believes a Dunkin’ Donuts will fit into the plan well and said he’s not concerned that there are too many coffee shops springing up around town.

"People seem to be drinking more and more coffee. Do I think that there will be enough business here for them? The answer is ‘yes.’ They’ve done the demographics," said Trotta. "And they’re considerably more than doughnuts and coffee.

"I think this will be a successful business and an asset in the community."