Frankfort OKs Shared Patio for Grounded Coffee and The Loft Downtown

Frankfort Village Board Meeting | June 15, 2026

Article Summary: The Frankfort Village Board on Monday, June 15, 2026, approved amendments allowing Grounded Coffee Bar and The Loft to merge their previously approved outdoor patios into a single shared seating area along the historic Olde Frankfort Mall building.

Ash Street Outdoor Seating Key Points:

• The amendments combine separate patios at 19 Ash Street and 15 Ash Street into one shared space with no physical divider.
• Both properties sit in the H-1 Historic District along the north facade of the Olde Frankfort Mall building.
• The Plan Commission recommended the Grounded Coffee change 5-0 and The Loft change 4-1.
• The Loft’s approval carries conditions, including a 10 p.m. closing and lighting cutoff and limits on signage.

FRANKFORT — The Frankfort Village Board on Monday, June 15, 2026, granted two special use permit amendments that will let neighboring downtown businesses Grounded Coffee Bar and The Loft share a single outdoor dining patio. The two measures were considered separately from the consent agenda, each passing on a 5-0 vote of the trustees present.

Applicant Michael Shideler, on behalf of both establishments, sought to amend outdoor-seating permits the village originally approved on June 16, 2025. Those approvals — Ordinance No. 3511 for a 725-square-foot patio at Grounded Coffee, 19 Ash Street, and Ordinance No. 3512 for a 1,000-square-foot patio at The Loft, 15 Ash Street — established the two patios independently. The amendments modify the approved footprints along the north facade of the Olde Frankfort Mall building to create one continuous seating area shared by both businesses, with no physical delineation between the spaces. Both properties are zoned H-1 Historic District.

At its May 28, 2026, public hearing, the Plan Commission forwarded a unanimous 5-0 recommendation to approve the Grounded Coffee request and a 4-1 recommendation to approve The Loft request with conditions. The conditions attached to The Loft require that the outdoor seating area close and all patio lighting be turned off by 10 p.m., and prohibit signage other than regulatory signs on the fence, building or other surfaces unless explicitly authorized in writing by the village.

Trustee Maura Rigoni read both motions. The board approved the Grounded Coffee amendment first, followed by The Loft amendment, with no discussion recorded before either vote.