Downtown Birmingham’s first Chipotle, part of the Publix-anchored 20 Midtown development, got approval from Birmingham’s Design Review committee for its outdoor cafe space on Aug. 12, 2015.
Downtown Birmingham’s first Chipotle got city approval to have outdoor dining, bringing the burrito restaurant one step closer to opening at the corner of 20th Street South and 3rd Avenue South.
Birmingham’s Design Review Committee approved the outdoor cafe at the bottom of 20 Midtown, the three-block development by Dick Schmalz, owner of RGS Properties and Scott Bryant of Scott M. Bryant & Co.
Chipotle already has two locations in the Birmingham area, but this is the first near the city’s center. The chain has locations off of U.S. 280 and in Hoover near the Galleria.
“We’re very excited about Chipotle and we’re glad they wanted to have their operations such that it embraces and contributes to the vibrancy of the street life, and we think that all of our future tenants are going to have that same willingness,” Schmalz said. “We’re excited for what the end result is going to be.”
Schmalz said he expects Chipotle to be under construction before the end of August. Chipotle plans to open before the end of the year.
The Chipotle will be next to the Starbucks. Publix will be across the street.
Tammy Cohen of Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds is the architect. Martin Smith of SRS Real Estate Partners is managing leasing the retail space.