Chipotle Mexican Grill, a restaurant known for its massive burritos, has been approved by the Providence Zoning Board to open a location on Euclid Avenue, adjacent to Thayer Street. But shortly after the approval was granted, two appeals were filed in the Providence Superior Court by Thayer Street property owners. Those appeals are still pending.
Chipotle, which has another Rhode Island location in Warwick, plans to open the Thayer restaurant by early 2009, company spokesman Chris Arnold told The Herald.
Special permission from the zoning board was required by Chipotle to open at 2 Euclid Ave. due to a lack of on-site parking - Providence zoning ordinances demand that restaurants have one parking space for every four seats. This permission was granted by the zoning board on Aug. 24, according to court records.
However, two appeals currently pending against the zoning board's decision may stand in the way of Chipotle's College Hill debut. These appeals - brought by Stonehenge Partners LLC and G. Dale Dulgarian - serve as a "complaint that the board acted improperly," said Peter Carnevale, the zoning board's secretary. For the appeals to be won, the appellate must prove that the zoning board acted wrongly in granting Chipotle permission to use space, Carnevale said.
Stonehenge Partners owns several Thayer properties, including Johnny Rockets, and Dulgarian is a trustee of the Krikor S. Dulgarian Trust, which owns the Avon cinema and Andreas Restaurant properties.
Dulgarian's appeal is primarily concerned with the "special use permit as to the parking requirement," according to court documents. It calls the parking permit "clearly contrary" to zoning board provisions and also states that the decision to grant Chipotle the special permit "exceeds the authority granted" to the zoning board.
Chipotle is known for both the size of its burritos and its use of natural ingredients, like organic produce and free-range pigs. Along with the standard fare of burritos and tacos, most Chipotle restaurants also sell beer and margaritas. But the Thayer Street location's application for zoning calls for the "proposed construction of a new restaurant without liquor license."
In an e-mail to The Herald in March, Arnold called selling beer and margaritas "part of the overall mix" of the restaurant's ambiance. However, he wrote in an e-mail last week that liquor license considerations for the Thayer restaurant are "premature."
Chipotle has no other plans for Rhode Island, Arnold wrote, and the proposed Providence restaurant is "still a ways off." The company does not discuss its plans for specific markets until it has finalized the leases, Arnold wrote.
When asked about the pending appeals, Arnold had no information on the details. "Bear in mind, this restaurant is more than a year away from opening," he wrote.
