A new digital-only Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant is set to open in the former home of Little Caesars Pizza at the Briggs Chaney MarketPlace.
There is no dining area in the “Chipotlane” Digital Kitchen, located at 13801 Outlet Drive. Compared to a traditional Chipotle restaurant, the location is much smaller and there is no front-line staff to prepare customer orders; the kitchen is dedicated exclusively to taking digital orders via the Chipotle app or its website.
Customers may pick up their orders from the drive-thru or a walk-up window, or order delivery through an app such as DoorDash or Uber Eats.
The first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen opened in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio in 2021; an additional location is scheduled to open soon in Langley Park. There are more than 120 Chipotle restaurants in the region, including those at Ellsworth Place in downtown Silver Spring, the Woodmoor Shopping Center, and White Oak.
The company had roughly 250 Chipotlane locations across the country as of October of last year, according to the restaurant industry publication QSR Magazine.
There is an increasing trend in the fast food and fast-casual restaurant industry that focuses on digital-only locations with limited or no indoor dining space. Flip’d by IHOP opened in Downtown Silver Spring in September of last year, marking the third location in IHOP’s quick-service concept.
Photo courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill