PORTAGE PARK — Burrito lovers rejoice: Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to open a new restaurant at Six Corners.
Ald. John Arena (45th) said he signed off last week on the permits for the new restaurant that will be built at 4653 W. Irving Park Road, where a building that once housed a clothing store and a bank was torn down this fall.
Chipotle's investment in Six Corners will help convince other upscale, national chain stores to invest in the area, Arena said.
"We're going to use this to our advantage," Arena said. "Investment begets investment."
Arena said he expects his efforts to attract new businesses and shops to Six Corners to pay off with a "snowball effect" of new business ventures in Portage Park.
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold, whose office said he was traveling on business Thursday, could not be reached for comment. In December, Arnold acknowledged the Denver-based fast-casual chain was interested in the location but had not finalized the deal.
The first Chipotle, which features locally grown and organic produce as well as naturally raised meat on its menu, opened in 1993 and now has more than 1,450 locations.
Six Corners Business Association Ed Bannon said the area has long been waiting for a restaurant of Chipotle's stature to open in the area.
Although the area around Irving Park Road and Milwaukee and Cicero avenues has struggled for decades, it was once the city's premier shopping destination outside the Loop, with dozens of stores offering shoppers their hearts' desire and a chance to see a movie at the Portage Theater, built in the 1920s.
