Tex-Mex quick casual restaurant Chipotle continues its aggressive South Jersey expansion with plans to take over the former Boston Market building on the Black Horse Pike in Washington Township, this according to industry insiders.
Additionally, over in Barrington the exterior building of the all-new construction Chipotle project appears mostly complete (minus the front doors). It would seem that soon they start the interior build out.
This new location progress comes after Chipotle opened new locations this year in Mount Laurel (May), as well as a Vineland (March)
In recent years we’ve seen the opening of Chipotles in Brooklawn, Bellmawr, Glassboro, Blackwood and others.
This growth driven strategy based around new locations has seen the stock take off with a 54% increase in the last year alone. Chipotle now trades at over $3000 per share!
And if there’s any way possible that you’re unfamiliar with Chipotle, they are a fast-casual restaurant specializing in a simplified Tex-Mex menu focused on bowls, tacos and burritos.
Despite their size and growing number of units Chipotle prides themselves on cooking all of the food fresh in the restaurant, and preparing everything in front of the customers.
Chipotle Washington Twp – Black Horse Pike
Industry insiders tell 42Freeway that Chipotle has signed on to open their second Washington Township location… with plans to take over the closed Boston Market building on the Black Horse Pike.
The planned location is a freestanding building sitting in front of the At Home warehouse style home-decor store.
This would be the second nice recent to the immediate commercial district, as across the busy roadway, Floor & Decor is building a large 65,000sf store.
Boston Market operated on the northbound side of the building up until earlier this year when the location was permanently closed. Signage hanging in the window states that Boston Market was evicted by an action of the Superior Court of New Jersey.
This Boston Market closure was likely related to ongoing financial woes for the company. Chipotle on the other hand seems to be flying high with growing sales and stock price.
This is very early in the process and the ink is likely still wet on the Chipotle contract… so we do not have any the estimated times on this project.
That being said there’s a few positives for this planned project, regarding a possible speedier construction cycle.
First off, since the building sits within a shopping center parking lot and there are no changes to roadway access, there will likely be no impacts or approvals needed from New Jersey Department of Transportation or Gloucester County.
Additionally the building itself is already a blocky rectangular shape which fits the Chipotle model perfectly. An all new interior will need to be added as well as upgrades to the exterior, but the current shape should save time and money in retrofitting a building that is already very closely suited for the Chipotle use.
I would still bet it’s 2025 before we see them opening
Washington Township already has a Chipotle location over on Egg Harbor Rd. in front of the Acme shopping center, attached to a First Watch brunch restaurant. That Chipotle location is identified as Sewell.
Chipotle – Barrington White Horse Pike
Back in September of 2022 I reported on a Chipotle being proposed for Barrington at the site of the former Timeout Sports and Music Bar.
This location is also a busy commercial corridor, with the same intersection being home to Wawa, Chipotle and Chuck Lager’s restaurant.
The White Horse Pike project was much more involved as it required demolishing the Timeout Bar, designing and developing a completely all new building, as well as getting approvals for parking lot access to the busy White Horse Pike.
Things kicked in to the high gear earlier this year when in March, 42Freeway reported that the Timeout Bar was being demolished.
Construction Crews wasted no time as they immediately rolled into the construction phase of the new Chipotle building.
In my visit today the parking lot was fully curbed, asphalted and parking lines painted! Landscaping was completed with shrubs and grass seed in place.
The core building exterior is completed including the installation of the glass window panes. Noticeably missing are the front doors.
While there is no activity inside at this time, it’s a safe bet that we should the interior build-out start soon.
Links and Locations
Chipotle – Blackwood Washington Twp (Planned)
5716 Black Horse Pike
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Chipotle – Barrington (Under Construction)
241 White Horse Pike
Barrington, NJ 08007