08/17/2025
No guac? Try no Chipotle: Tequesta rejects plan for Mexican eatery at long-vacant building
A drive-through lane for prepaid customers was one issue in rejecting Chipotle Mexican Grill. So was the presence of other Mexican eateries nearby.
Story by Maya Washburn, Palm Beacvh Post
August 17, 2025
The Tequesta Village Council rejected a proposal to open a Chipotle Mexican Grill in a vacant building.
Council members cited concerns about traffic, the "Chipotlane" drive-through window and the restaurant's fit with the village's character.
The agent for the developer said it may be difficult to attract small businesses to the location due to financial constraints.
Some people pass on the guacamole or the beans when they eat at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Tequesta has passed on the chain altogether.
The owner of a 6,099-square-foot vacant building at the southwest corner of Tequesta Drive and U.S. 1 wanted to bring the popular Mexican fast-food eatery and a medical office to the space. The Tequesta Village Council rejected the plan on Aug. 12.
Every council member turned it down except for Patrick Painter, who said he loves Chipotle and thinks the council needs to stop turning down requests from developers trying to open shops in the space, which has been empty for three years.
“We would all love this to be some local business owner that wanted to put in a nice local restaurant without a pickup window, but I have a lot of fear that if we keep saying no, eventually it will be something we really don't want,” said Painter, who pointed out that the council met on what is "Taco Tuesday" in many households.
“We are being very picky, in my opinion.”
Council members question if Chipotle Mexican Grill 'fits' in Tequesta
The building dates to 2004 and used to be a bank, but it has been vacant since 2022. The council would have had to allow a special exception for a fast-food restaurant to open there because of the site's zoning district.
Over the past 18 months, the owner proposed a Wawa convenience store and “looked at” banks and even a Trader Joe’s grocery store as possible tenants, but these plans did not come to fruition, said Troy Holloway, the agent for the project.
In their discussion of the Chipotle proposal, council members had concerns that traffic around the building would become chaotic and unsafe, especially with the proposed pickup “Chipotlane” window, which allows customers to pick up their order from their cars if they order online ahead of time.
The owner of this building at Tequesta Drive and U.S. 1 says he has had trouble finding tenants to fill the 6,000-square-foot space. He looked at Wawa and even Trader Joe's as tenants before trying to win Tequesta's approval of a Chipotle Mexican Grill. The village rejected the plan.
Some said the fast-food chain does not “fit” in Tequesta, a 2-mile coastal village filled with small businesses, many of them restaurants. There are chain coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin, but no chain fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's or Burger King, except for one Domino's Pizza on U.S. 1.
Mayor Molly Young worried that future tenants could take advantage of the Chipotlane and turn the window into a traditional drive-through, further snarling traffic. She said she would be more inclined to approve the plan if it didn't have the pickup window.
Council member Laurie Brandon said there is enough Mexican food in the area already. U.S. 1 has two Mexican food restaurants right now, PapiChulo Tacos, just south of the proposed Chipotle site, and Rancho Chico, in County Line Plaza just south of the Martin County border.
“I feel like we have so much Mexican food everywhere,” Brandon said. “It’s just such an easy food to make. I don’t know if we need more of it. I’m not really saying no to fast food. … Do we need this type of fast food?”
Council member Rick Sartory said he received more than a dozen texts from residents telling him they didn’t want the council to approve the Chipotle.
“This is the entrance to our city,” Sartory said. “As much as we landscape it, we still got a Chipotle at the entrance to a city that was founded in 1957 and really hasn't thrived on fast food, formula restaurants.”
What would the Chipotle in Tequesta look like?
If approved, the Chipotle would have featured a coastal architectural style and outdoor seating, according to Holloway. The building, along with the medical office, would have attracted nearly 800 total daily trips to the 1.4-acre site, next to a CVS and across U.S. 1 from a shopping center.
The eatery would have created 60 jobs and management would have hired from within Tequesta, said Will Crowden, real estate manager for the chain.
After the council voted against the project, Holloway said it might be a struggle for the owner to bring small businesses into the building.
“I know you guys want local businesses, but the problem is local businesses don't have staying power, bank power, and they can't pay these rates for buildings like this,” he said. “That is a big problem with trying to get small users.”
