With 2 restaurants in the works, Chipotle continues Jacksonville expansion. Here's what we know.
After opening six Jacksonville-area restaurants in the last three years – including four last year alone – Chipotle Mexican Grill continues to expand its presence in Northeast Florida.
The California-based fast-casual restaurant known for its made-to-order bowls, tacos and burritos featuring local and organic produce has one Jacksonville restaurant in the works and is exploring a second.
The first is planned for 5801 Beach Blvd. at Boulevard Crossing, the NAI Hallmark-developed retail center in the former Kmart parking lot near University Boulevard.
More on the way: More than 25 restaurants are in the works for Jacksonville in 2022. Here's a list.
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There, the city approved in June a building permit for a 2,435-square-foot shell building now under construction. According to plans submitted to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, the restaurant will seat about 40 in its dining room and another 20 in an outdoor patio dining area. It will also include a drive-thru.
At Boulevard Crossing, Chipotle would join a rebuilt McDonald’s (2020), Starbucks (2021) and Wingstop (2022).
Chipotle is also considering a restaurant in Baymeadows, at 9172 Baymeadows Road, the vacant site of a former gas station, near Hardee’s and 4 Rivers Smokehouse.
According to plans submitted to JEA on Aug. 24, Chipotle plans a 2,431-square-foot, 60-seat restaurant with a drive-thru and patio at the site located at the intersection of Baymeadows Road and Western Way.
After debuting in the Jacksonville market in October 2008 with restaurants in Mandarin and the St. Johns Town Center area, Chipotle has opened at least 12 restaurants here, including the following since 2019: 9761 Argyle Forest Blvd., (November 2019), 50 Riverside Ave. (May 2020), 4495 Roosevelt Blvd. (March 2021), 463913 SR 200 in Yulee (June 2021), 1607 CR 220 in Fleming Island (July 2021) and 3860 University Blvd. W. (December 2021).
When it opened in 2019, the Argyle Forest restaurant was the first in Florida to feature a drive-thru, dubbed the “Chipotlane.”
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Chipotle planning 2 new restaurants in Jacksonville
