Baja Fresh closed yet another Orange County unit earlier this month at a Newport Beach retail center owned by the Irvine Co.
The closure is among at least four units that have shuttered over the last several months.
But the Irvine Co., which operates The Bluffs retail center, has moved quickly to fill the Baja Fresh gap. The space will be soon be home to Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Chipotle will open by mid-summer, according to Irvine Co. and Chipotle representatives. When the Newport Beach restaurant opens, it will be among 17 Chipotles in operation in O.C., a region that is becoming an important test market for the Denver chain.
Earlier this year, Chipotle said it was testing soft corn tortillas in various California restaurants. And, last week, Chipotle debuted a Burrito by the Box program for groups wanting large, non-customized orders. That test program is limited to restaurants in Las Vegas and California, the company said.
Tell us: Does Orange County need more Chipotles? Also, did the Irvine Co. make the right decision to replace one fresh-Mex concept with another?
The latest restaurant closures:
The latest restaurant openings:
Baja Fresh out, Chipotle in at Newport Beach retail center is a post from: Fast Food Maven
