Prefabricated, transportable, drive-thru convenience store

• US 5,727,352 A
• Filed: 12/19/1994
• Issued: 03/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Golden Cow, LLC
• Original Assignee: Rewjb Dairy Plant Associates
• Inventors: Francis, Scott, Argenti, Al, Bared, Maurice, Jennings, Barry, Bared, Rebecca, Doorn, Roy Van
• Primary Examiner(s): Friedman, Carl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): STEPHAN, BETH A
• Application Number:
  US08/358,873
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 186/35, 186/36, 186/52-54, 186/57, 186/59, 52/33, 52/36.1, 52/36.2, 52/79.1, 52/234
• US Class Current: 52/79.1
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 14/00 Buildings for combinations of different purposes not covered by any single one of main groups E04H1/00-E04H13/00 of this subclass, e.g. for double purpose E04H3/02, E04H9/06 take precedence; Buildings of the drive-in type
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/04 Restaurants or shops having arrangements for self-service

Abstract

A modular convenience store. The store has a floor and a plurality of walls extending substantially vertically from the floor, which define a perimeter of the store, which has an interior and exterior. This plurality of walls includes a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall. The front wall is less than or equal to sixty feet long. The rear wall is less than or equal to sixty feet long and substantially opposing the front wall. The left wall is less than or equal to fourteen feet long, and the right wall is less than or equal to fourteen feet long and substantially opposing the left wall. A roof covers the interior of the store. A front door is substantially intermediate the front wall, and a rear door is substantially intermediate the rear wall. A walk-in cooler, with an interior, is located within the interior of the store, adjacent the left and rear walls, left of the rear door, and spaced from the front wall. An exterior cooler-service door is provided for passage directly between the exterior of the store and the interior of the cooler. An interior cooler-service door is provided for passage between the interior of the cooler and the interior of the store. The store is assembleable off-site and transportable as a single unit.

Claims

1. A modular convenience store comprising:

a floor;

a plurality of walls extending substantially vertically from said floor and defining a non-circular perimeter of said store, said store having an interior and an exterior;

a roof covering said interior of said store;

a plurality of vehicle drive-thru lanes substantially adjacent to said store;

a plurality of access doors located within said walls for ingress to and egress from said interior of said store, wherein said access doors are substantially adjacent to said vehicle drive-thru lanes, whereby a driver of a vehicle in one of said vehicle drive-thru lanes and adjacent one of said access doors may communicate with an employee of said store without said driver exiting said vehicle and entering said store;

a walk-in cooler having an interior, said cooler being located within said interior of said store adjacent at least one of said wall;

an exterior cooler-service door for passage between said exterior of said store and said interior of said cooler whereby the cooler may be accessed throught the exterior cooler-service door by a person on the exterior of the store without entering the interior of the store or communicating with an employee of the store;

an interior cooler-service door for passage between said interior of said cooler and said interior of said store; and

at least one display window disposed within at least one of said walls;

whereby said walls, roof, doors and coolers are modular, such that said store may be assembleable off-site and transportable as a single unit, and whereby said walls and said roof, once assembled, are stationary.

2. The convenience store of claim 1, wherein said plurality of walls includes a front wall;

a rear wall;

a left wall; and

a right wall.

3. The convenience store of claim 2, wherein said front and rear walls substantially oppose one another, and said left and right walls substantially oppose one another, so that said store is substantially rectangular in shape.

4. The convenience store of claim 3, wherein said:

access doors comprise a front access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said front wall and a rear access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said rear wall.

5. The convenience store of claim 4, wherein said cooler is located left of said rear access door and spaced from said front wall.

6. The convenience store of claim 5 wherein said cooler is adjacent said rear and left walls.

7. The convenience store of claim 6, wherein said cooler further comprises:

a front side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said rear and front walls;

a right side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said left and right walls;

a left side adjacent said left wall; and

a rear side adjacent said rear wall.

8. The convenience store of claim 7, wherein said front side substantially opposes said rear side and said right side substantially opposes said left side so that said cooler is substantially rectangular.

9. The convenience store of claim 8, wherein said exterior cooler-service door is disposed within said left side of said cooler.

10. The convenience store of claim 9, further comprising a cooler-product door in said right side of said cooler.

11. The convenience store of claim 10, wherein:

said display windows include a front display window disposed within said front wall to the side of said front access door and a rear display window disposed within said rear wall to the side of said rear access door.

12. The convenience store of claim 11, further comprising:

an employee room within said interior of said store adjacent said front and right walls, said employee room being located right of said front access door, said employee room being spaced from said rear wall; and

a restroom within said employee room.

13. The convenience store of claim 2, wherein said access doors comprise a front access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said front wall and a rear access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said rear wall.

14. The convenience store of claim 13, wherein said cooler is located left of said rear access door and spaced from said front wall.

15. The convenience store of claim 14 wherein said cooler is adjacent said rear and left walls.

16. The convenience store of claim 15, wherein said cooler further comprises:

a front side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said rear and front walls;

a right side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said left and right walls;

a left side adjacent said left wall; and

a rear side adjacent said rear wall.

17. The convenience store of claim 16, wherein said front side substantially opposes said rear side and said right side substantially opposes said left side so that said cooler is substantially rectangular.

18. The convenience store of claim 17, wherein said exterior cooler-service door is disposed within said left side of said cooler.

19. The convenience store of claim 18, further comprising a cooler-product door in said right side of said cooler.

20. The convenience store of claim 19, wherein:

said display windows include a front display window disposed within said front wall to the side of said front access door and a rear display window disposed within said rear wall to the side of said rear access door.

21. The convenience store of claim 20, further comprising:

an employee room within said interior of said store adjacent said front and right walls, said employee room being located right of said front access door, said employee room being spaced from said rear wall; and

a restroom within said employee room.

22. The convenience store of claim 16, wherein said exterior cooler-service door is disposed within said left side of said cooler.

23. The convenience store of claim 22, further comprising a cooler-product door in said right side of said cooler.

24. The convenience store of claim 23, wherein said display windows include a front display window disposed within said front wall to the side of said front access door and a rear display window disposed within said rear wall to the side of said rear access door.

25. The convenience store of claim 24, further comprising:

an employee room within said interior of said store adjacent said front and right walls, said employee room being located right of said front access door, said employee room being spaced from said rear wall; and

a restroom within said employee room.

26. The convenience store of claim 14, wherein said cooler further comprises:

a front side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said rear and front walls;

a right side substantially parallel to and spaced apart from said left and right walls;

a left side; and

a rear side.

27. The convenience store of claim 26, wherein said exterior cooler-service door is disposed within said left side of said cooler.

28. The convenience store of claim 27, further comprising a cooler-product door in said right side of said cooler.

29. The convenience store of claim 28, wherein said display windows include a front display window disposed within said front wall to the side of said front access door and a rear display window disposed within said rear wall to the side of said rear access door.

30. The convenience store of claim 29, further comprising:

an employee room within said interior of said store adjacent said front and right walls, said employee room being located right of said front access door, said employee room being spaced from said rear wall; and

a restroom within said employee room.

31. The convenience store of claim 30, wherein said exterior cooler-service door is disposed within said left side of said cooler.

32. The convenience store of claim 31, further comprising a cooler-product door in said right side of said cooler.

33. The convenience store of claim 32, wherein said display windows include a front display window disposed within said front wall to the side of said front access door and a rear display window disposed within said rear wall to the side of said rear access door.

34. The convenience store of claim 33, further comprising:

an employee room within said interior of said store adjacent said front and right walls, said employee room being located right of said front access door, said employee room being spaced from said rear wall; and

a restroom within said employee room.

35. The convenience store of claim 12, further comprising cooler racks in said interior of said cooler adjacent said cooler product doors.

36. The convenience store of claim 35, wherein said front and rear access doors are sliding glass doors.

37. The convenience store of claim 36, further comprising:

a left display window located in said left wall between said cooler and said front wall; and

a right display window located in said right wall between said employee room and said rear wall.

38. The convenience store of claim 37, wherein:

said front display window occupies substantially all of said front wall left of said front access door;

said rear display window occupies substantially all of said rear wall right of said rear access door;

said left display window occupies substantially all of said left wall between said cooler and said front wall; and

said right display window occupies substantially all of said right wall between said employee room and said rear wall.

39. The convenience store of claim 38, further comprising:

a cashier stand located within said interior of said store spaced from, and substantially intermediate the interior space between, said front and rear access doors, said stand being located right of and spaced from said cooler; and

an inventory storage area located right of said cashier stand and left of said employee room.

40. The convenience store of claim 39, further comprising:

front display racks adjacent said front and left display windows for displaying merchandise to said exterior of said store through said front and left display windows; and

rear display racks adjacent said rear and right display windows for displaying merchandise to said exterior of said store through said rear and right display windows;

wherein said cooler is spaced from said front wall sufficiently to allow stocking of said front display racks;

wherein said employee room is spaced from said rear wall sufficiently to allow stocking of said rear display racks.

41. The convenience store of claim 40, further comprising a freezer located within said inventory storage area.

42. The convenience store of claim 41, further comprising inventory shelving located within said inventory storage area.

43. The convenience store of claim 42, further comprising a front canopy and a rear canopy extending from said roof over said front and rear access doors, respectively.

44. The convenience store of claim 43, wherein said left and right walls are less than twenty feet long.

45. The convenience store of claim 44, wherein said left and right walls are less than or equal to fourteen feet long.

46. The convenience store of claim 45, wherein said front and rear walls are less than sixty-five feet long.

47. The convenience store of claim 46, wherein said front and rear walls are less than or equal to fifty-five feet long.

48. The convenience store of claim 47, further comprising an exit-only panic door through said front wall located between said front access door and said employee area.

49. A modular convenience store comprising:

a floor;

a plurality of walls extending substantially vertically from said floor and defining a non-circular perimeter of said store, said store having an interior and an exterior;

said plurality of walls including a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall;

said front wall being less than or equal to sixty feet long;

said rear wall being less than or equal to sixty feet long and substantially opposing said front wall;

said left wall being less than or equal to fourteen feet long;

said right wall being less than or equal to fourteen feet long and substantially opposing said left wall;

a roof covering said interior of said store;

a front access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said front wall, wherein said front access door is substantially adjacent to a first vehicle drive-thru lane, whereby a driver of a vehicle in said vehicle drive-thru lane and adjacent said front access door may communicate with an employee of said store without said driver exiting said vehicle and entering said store;

a rear access door located substantially intermediate the sides of said rear wall, wherein said rear access door is substantially adjacent to a second vehicle drive-thru lane, whereby a driver of a vehicle in said vehicle drive-thru lane and adjacent said rear access door may communicate with an employee of said store without said driver exiting said vehicle and entering said store;

a walk-in cooler having an interior, said cooler being located within said interior of said store, left of said rear access door, and spaced from said front wall;

an exterior cooler-service door for passage between said exterior of said store and said interior of said cooler, whereby the cooler may be accessed through the exterior cooler-service door by a person on the exterior of the store without entering the interior of the store or communicating with an employee of the store; and

an interior cooler-service door for passage between said interior of said cooler and said interior of said store;

whereby said walls, roof, doors and coolers are modular, such that said store may be assembleable off-site and transportable as a single unit, and whereby said walls and said roof, once assembled, are stationary.

50. A method of constructing a prefabricated, modular, transportable, drive-thru convenience store comprising the steps of:

providing a floor;

providing a plurality of walls to extend from said floor;

connecting said walls to said floor to extend substantially vertically from said floor and define a perimeter of said store, providing said store with an interior and an exterior;

covering said store with a roof for covering said interior of said store;

providing a plurality of vehicle drive-thru lanes substantially adjacent to said storage;

providing a plurality of access doors in said walls for ingress to and egress from said interior of said store, wherein said access doors are constructed to be placed substantially adjacent to said vehicle drive-thru lanes, whereby a driver of a vehicle in one of said vehicle drive-thru lanes and adjacent one of said access doors may communicate with an employee of said store without said driver exiting said vehicle and entering said store;

providing a walk-in cooler having an interior, said cooler being located within said interior of said store adjacent at least one of said walls;

providing an exterior cooler-service door for passage between said exterior of said store and said interior of said cooler, whereby the cooler may be accessed through the exterior cooler-service door by a person on the exterior of the store without entering the interior of the store or communicating with an employee of the store;

providing an interior cooler-service door for passage between said interior of said cooler and said interior of said store;

providing at least one display window disposed within at least one of said walls;

completing all of said foregoing steps at a first location;

transporting said completed store as a single unit to a second location; and

placing said completed store in a desired spot at said second location;

whereby said walls and said roof of said completed store, once placed in said desired spot, are stationary.