Is Chipotle Mexican Grill coming to Ellicott City?

Yes, according to a spokesman from the company.

When?

Maybe later this year, maybe this summer.

“I’ve got two reports here,” Chris Arnold said, both with different dates. But, he said, the project is on.

One report puts the opening of the restaurant, at the intersection of Baltimore National Pike and St. John’s Lane, at the end of the year. The other, in the summer.

Last year, the project manager told Patch the chain would be opening at the end of 2012.  Since then the corner lot in St. John’s Plaza, just across the street from Qdoba, has remained nearly untouched. 

At around that time, the company had met with the county’s Design Advisory Panel. According to Planning Supervisor Brad Killian, the panel had granted a commercial variance but, Killian said, “They wanted assurances from the county that if they weren’t able to adhere to the conditions, that we wouldn’t step in and say ‘you can’t do that.’” 

Killian said he’s happy that the project is going forward. “We are happy to have a national chain come in and redevelop that site.”

He's not the only one.

On Monday, local food blogger HowChow linked to a .PDF on the HR Retail website, which owns the property, showing a bright red and yellow "coming soon" marker in the spot where Chipotle will be.

Though he tends not to write about chains, he wrote, "I can happily line up for an enormous burrito at Chipotle." 

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