Harlem's First Chipotle Delays Grand Opening

HARLEM, NY — Harlemites waiting to get their hands on Chipotle's signature fast-casual, pseudo-Mexican food offerings will have to wait a little longer.

The popular chain delayed the grand opening of its new restaurant on West 125th Street between Lenox and Fifth avenues, the 125th Street Business Improvement District announced. The restaurant was supposed to open Tuesday, June 26 and a new opening date has not been set, the business group said.

Chipotle announced in January that it would be opening its first Harlem restaurant this summer. The chain secured a 10-year lease for a 2,500-square-foot space at 72 W. 125th St., according to reports from earlier this year.

The company had been scouting the neighborhood for years before selecting the perfect spot for a new Chipotle, Commercial Observer reported in January.

"This is where we wanted to be, at the axis of 125th Street and Lenox, where you have the best balance of office workers, shoppers, residents, students and transit users," Kenneth Hochhauser, Chipotle's real estate broker in Manhattan, told Commercial Observer in a statement.

The restaurant will offer the chain's full menu of tacos, burritos and burrito bowls with a number of toppings that customers can pick and choose from. The West 125th Street Chipotle will be just the chain's third restaurant located above 110th Street. The other two restaurants are located near the Columbia University Campus in Morningside Heights and by Columbia University Medical Center in Washington heights.

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