DINUBA – The plan to bring a Chipotle Mexican Grill to Dinuba is underway after developers bought city-owned land near the Wal-Mart shopping center.
The Dinuba City Council approved a land purchase and sale agreement between the city and MB Developers, LLC at its meeting July 11, making way for the popular chain to begin development. The 30,000 square-foot parcel of land located near the West El Monte Way Wal-Mart sold for $150,000.
“Staff felt the Chipotle restaurant would be a nice complement to the area,” assistant city manager Daniel James said.
Plans to open a Chipotle location have “been a long time coming,” according to multiple city council members, but now that the land has sold, the chain is eager to move along in the building process. MB Developers, who will be working with the Chipotle corporation, plan to submit a formal site plan to the city for review in two to three weeks, James said.
A representative from Chipotle said they are scheduled to have a Dinuba location open at some point next year, but have no other details about the development at this time.
The land sold was just a small portion of a larger, 20-acre parcel of commercially-zoned land the city owns. The Chipotle will go up on what is currently undeveloped land east of the Wal-Mart and just south of the Subway in the shopping center.
James said the developers will be responsible for vehicle access to the site and all water and sewer connections to the restaurant. The full details of how customers will access the site and what it will take to complete water and sewer connections will be outlined in the final site plan that the developers will have to bring to city council for approval.
According to a staff report on the matter, the $150,000 price tag is “consistent with the Broker’s Opinion of Value” provided by Retail California. Monies from the sale will go into the city’s general fund at the close of escrow.
The staff report said the Chipotle will “complement the West El Monte commercial corridor by adding a new sit-down, fast casual restaurant option for Dinuba residents and visitors to the community.” Council members noted that the city is lacking in fast-casual chain options similar to Chipotle and this would add a nice option for city residents who enjoy that style of restaurant.
