Chipotle Mexican Grill, a restaurant chain that offers a menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls and salads, will open in Westwood Village in late January or early February 2008. Located at 1077 Broxton Ave., Chipotle will operate in the location that previously housed D’Amore’s Pizza, next to Damon and Pythias, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said.
Many students at UCLA are eager for the addition to Westwood Village because of the culinary variety that it will offer, Kevin Baldwin, a second-year psychobiology student, said.
“Right now there are a lot of yogurt places in Westwood and places I’ve already been a ton of times,” Baldwin said. “So having something new to eat like Chipotle will be exciting.”
Chipotle is a popular eatery because, though it is fast food, it offers healthy options, third-year psychology and philosophy student Westen Newman said.
“Of all the restaurants in Westwood, there’s nothing really like Chipotle,” he said.
But construction is not yet complete and there are still many decisions to be made, Arnold said, like whether or not Chipotle will accept BruinCard Easy Pay.
Many students, especially freshmen and students without credit cards, would find it convenient if Chipotle accepted BruinCards, Baldwin said.
Using Easy Pay comes in handy if you have money on your BruinCard and no cash, he said.
But final decisions will not be made until closer to the opening of the store, Arnold said.
In the meantime, there is a lot of talk about the imminent opening of the restaurant.
“There are only a couple of other Mexican restaurants around the Village, like Rubio’s in Ackerman Union,” Newman said. “But Chipotle is a higher quality product and much healthier.”
Chipotle, which opened in 1993 and operates more than 640 restaurants, dubs its food “fast-casual,” according to the Chipotle Web site.
Though it is technically fast food ““ it can be taken to go and is made quickly ““ Chipotle lacks the poor nutritional value of many fast-food chains, Newman said.
It has no artificial colors, flavorings or trans-fatty acids, according to the site, creating an alternative to other fast-food restaurants. The restaurant chain also uses naturally raised pork, beef and chicken as well as organically and sustainably grown produce, according to the site.
There are also vegetarian options, adding to its appeal for the health-conscious, Newman said.
But despite many students’ enthusiasm for a Chipotle in the Village, some have expressed concern that Westwood will lose its individuality if chain restaurants take over.
“Part of the charm of Westwood is the businesses ““ if they all get replaced, we’ll turn into a big, faceless billboard,” fourth-year English student Tom Nestojko said, according to Daily Bruin archives.
One of the biggest struggles for the new restaurant, in part due to concerns like Nestojko’s, will simply be survival.
Joe D’Amore, the owner of the D’Amore’s Pizza chain, blamed bad location for the failure of the branch that was previously located on Broxton.
“All the action seems to be on Weyburn (Avenue), where BJ’s, California Pizza Kitchen and Enzo’s Pizzeria are,” D’Amore said, according to the archives. “If you don’t have a location where the action is, it’s hard to make it happen.”
But students are crossing their fingers that Chipotle will get the action it needs to stay in business.
“I’ve actually never had Chipotle,” Baldwin said, “but I’ve heard good things about it, and I can’t wait for it to open.”