By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The wait is over, as Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its doors on Wednesday to a crowd that was eager to try a rice bowl, burrito or taco from the popular restaurant chain on Washington Street in Claremont.
“We’re doing amazing,” General Manager Madison Staples said as customers were flowing through the door at a rapid rate. “I’m really excited to be part of Claremont’s community.”
Patrons were there promptly at the 10:45 a.m. scheduled opening time, with Staples saying, “we’ve had a good little line forming.”
Kristen Kerr was on-hand for the opening day with 6-year-old Logan and 8-year-old Kylie, with the crew ordering tacos all around. In between bites they commented on how they heard it was opening and decided to swing in and give it a try.
“They think building their own tacos is pretty cool,” Kerr said.
The idea behind Chipotle is that the food items are made to order in an assembly line fashion. These include burritos, burrito bowls, salads and tacos when ordering on the premises, but they also take online orders where people can order quesadillas and other specialty “lifestyle bowls.” The restaurant also offers chips, guacamole, soft drinks and a kid’s menu.
The new Chipotle is located at 384 Washington Street in a state-of-the-art 2,255 square-foot building, right next to another brand-new business with Wendy’s being open for about three months. Both buildings are brand new, and it was a bit of the talk of the town as local residents saw a pair of buildings being erected side by side. The buzz of two new nationally known restaurants filled social media, and now they are both open to the public.
The business is on the most highly traveled roadway in Claremont and the surrounding region, and Chipotle joins a growing number of businesses for residents and commuters to check out. T-Mobile also has a new location on Washington Street, as well as a local business down the road with Dazzle Nails.
City officials have been excited for the businesses to come into the city, especially this area with a high traffic volume. Chipotle is hiring for their new location, further adding to the economic uptick with new businesses in the city. It is also a good chance for Door Dash drivers in the area to make a few extra bucks due to the popularity and hype. At 11 a.m. on opening day there were already DoorDash drivers there waiting for food to be made so they could deliver it to hungry customers.
“This is my first one for today, but you can see here, there are three of us waiting to deliver,” said DoorDash delivery driver Destanie Raker. “I’ve actually never had it before but looking forward to trying it.”
Chipotle was started by Steve Ells, who lived in San Francisco and saw how popular taquerias were in the Mission District. This led him to moving to Denver, Colorado, in 1993, and slowly expanding the business outside of the state in the years to come. Now there are more than 3,500 restaurants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Chipotle is open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., and more information can be found at chipotle.com.
