WESTBROOK – Blockbuster Video’s Westbrook location will be making room for a national Mexican restaurant chain, which plans to move into the area soon.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, based in Denver, Colo., has received permits to build at 25 Main St., at a location in the Westbrook Crossing shopping plaza where Blockbuster is now, according to records at the Westbrook Planning Office.
“They are taking half of that Blockbuster space,” said David Fleming, a spokesman for W. S. Development, the Chestnut Hill, Mass., company that owns the entire shopping plaza.
Code Enforcement Officer Rick Gouzie said the permits are dated Sept. 15, and Chipotle has six months to begin working. Fleming said Chipotle plans to move into the space sometime during the first quarter of next year.
Fleming said Blockbuster occupies a 5,700-square-foot space at the shopping center, which includes other national chain stores and restaurants such as Kohl’s, Payless Shoe Source and Panera Bread Co. The video rental store will have to shrink to accommodate Chipotle, Fleming said.
After the move, both Blockbuster and Chipotle will each be slightly less than 3,000 square feet in size, which is about the same size as the neighboring Payless Shoe Source store, Fleming said.
“We’re going to split it down the middle,” he said.
Blockbuster made headlines last fall after filing for bankruptcy in September of 2010, citing $1 billion in debt. Published reports indicate the company has been engaged ever since in a restructuring process, which has included closing nearly 200 of its locations across the country.
Keith Luke, Westbrook community and economic development coordinator, declined to comment this week specifically on Blockbuster, but noted that video rental stores in general have been in decline in recent years nationwide, a victim of a growing trend in digital streaming video service.
By contrast, he said, “Mexican food is booming. It speaks to a growing diversity in the population.”
The Main Street location, Luke said, makes perfect sense for a chain like Chipotle. The plaza, he said, is a high-traffic location with high visibility, ideal for a chain looking to get attention.
And that may be Chipotle’s goal. A 73-seat restaurant opened last December at 359 Main Mall Road in South Portland, across the street from the Maine Mall. It’s the chain’s first location in the state.
Fleming said his company welcomes Chipotle, which has a reputation for using fresh, locally grown food in its menu.
“We’re really excited to have them in there. They’re an excellent operator,” he said.
Calls to corporate spokespersons for both Blockbuster and Chipotle were not returned by American Journal deadline Wednesday.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is planning to take over half of this
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