"Burritofication in Progress" reads a banner outside of the future location of the Chipotle Mexican Grill at the corner of Heister Street and Calder Way.
And indeed, the environmentally conscious national chain is already making waves in State College.
The restaurant is currently scheduled to open Sept. 18, but that date could change, Chipotle spokeswoman Katherine Newell Smith said.
The location for the restaurant is 116 Heister Street, the former site of Carmike Cinema 5, which closed in January 2008. Chipotle first expressed interest in renting the location last summer, Ed Friedman of the Friedman Real Estate Group said.
Building a Chipotle restaurant usually takes about 12 weeks, but the State College location is taking longer due to the difficulties of renovating the former movie theater lobby, contractor Bob Rosensteel said. Rosensteel has built three Chipotles, but this is his first time renovating a building for the restaurant.
In many of its business moves, Chipotle tries to keep the environment in mind. Paul Dixon, the future general manager of the new location, said Chipotle tries to renovate buildings rather than construct new ones.
And Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle, said the Denver-based restaurant chain is set apart by the quality of ingredients it uses in its food.
Chipotle, formerly a unit of the McDonald's Corporation, is a global leader in serving food made from sustainable sources, Arnold said. The company has committed to using increasing amounts of locally and organically grown produce, he said, and it cooks with humanely raised meats.
Dairy products used at Chipotle restaurants come from cows that are never given the synthetic hormone rBGH, which artificially increases milk production, Arnold said.
A folder stuck to a window of the restaurant contains applications for people interested in applying for a job. Dixon said he will not know how many employees the restaurant will hire until he sees how strong the State College market is.
The restaurant's final health inspection is scheduled for Aug. 21, said Kevin Kassab, a health technician for the State College Borough. The building code inspection is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 21 or 24, said Thomas Kurtz of the Department of Ordinance Enforcement and Public Health. Both Kassab and Kurtz have visited the site in the past and did not come across any major issues.
It is traditional for a Chipotle restaurant to have a free burrito day or fundraiser for an outside organization when it is opening a new restaurant, Smith said, and chances are that the State College restaurant will not be an exception.
