Chipotle clears hurdle

Drive-through gets approval for new site

Plans to move Chipotle Mexican Grill northward on Route 306 in Mentor are progressing.

The city Planning Commission on June 18 approved a conditional-use permit and architectural design for a new Chipotle in the 3,660-squarefoot spot next to Mission BBQ, at 7787 Reynolds Road (Route 306).

The proposal includes a drive-through and 368-square-foot patio at the former Bravo Italian Restaurant site.

The pickup window will be on the north side of the building facing Sheetz. Project representative Robert Abramovich of 7787 Reynolds Investors, which owns the site and the adjacent Starbucks property, distinguished the proposal from a typical drive-through.

“So (with) a traditional drive-through, you order at the rear of the building or on the side of the building,” he said. “Your order’s prepared and you pull through the drive-through lane and pick up your food. Chipotle is doing a pickup window. You would order online or on your app, and you would go through the pickup lane and pick up your food without exiting your car.”

There was much discussion about traffic circulation and ingress and egress from the site.

“The way it’s set up now is all the traffic from Mission BBQ or Chipotle is going to cross in front of Mission BBQ, so is there a way that we can relieve some of that traffic?” asked commission Vice Chairman Brian Cook. He noted issues with drive-through traffic double-stacking at Starbucks when other area locations were closed during the COVID-19 related shutdown.

“My fear is when you put a drive-through in here, you know you’re going to impact their parking out front because you’re constantly having cars going past it. If somebody wants to go south on Reynolds, they’re going to have to go in front of Mission.”

“Southbound traffic can only get there from Tyler (Boulevard),” added commission member Geoffrey Varga.

City Planning Director Kathy Mitchell noted that signage and directional arrows should help.

Varga inquired whether the associated tenants were happy with the proposal.

“We’re talking about a lot of traffic circling around these buildings,” he said.

Abramovich confirmed their support and said stacking shouldn’t be a problem because ordering and paying must be done ahead of time to use the pickup window.

“They provide their name, have their order ready and they move out,” he said. “It’s a different model and a different system.”

The proposal calls for interior seating accommodating 64 people and 24 more outdoors.

Business hours would be from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily. The applicant has indicated that up to nine employees would work per shift.

The drive-through lane requires eliminating seven existing parking spaces at the rear of the unit and one handicap space in front.

Although there is a total loss of 13 spaces from the previous layout, parking counts still fall within the minimum requirements for Chipotle, Mission Barbeque and Starbucks Coffee, according to a city staff report

to the commission.

The administration’s recommended conditions of approval include the following:

• The light pole location at the end of the drive lane is a hazard and shall be relocated and/or incorporated into a planting island.

• Protective bollards shall be installed around the proposed patio area in accordance with city Parking Lot Safety Standards.

• Patio dimensions and fence/railing specifications shall be provided on the plans as part of the final building permit review. Patio fencing shall match the style and color of the metal window and door framework.

• There shall be no music permitted on the outdoor patio without approval by the commission.

• The existing parking lot serving all three tenants shall be repaired, and the entire parking lot resurfaced and restriped.

The original building was constructed in 1997. Bravo closed in 2018 and Mission BBQ opened in a portion of the building in February.

Starbucks opened next door in 2019.

“Chipotle is doing a pickup window. You would order online or on your app, and you would go through the pickup lane and pick up your food without exiting your car.” — Project representative Robert Abramovich