Ask Coast residents to name a national restaurant chain they’d most like to see open in South Mississippi, and Chipotle will be high on that list.
“We’re the developer on it and we’re planning to break ground next week,” said Joe Pegram, a partner in Streamline Development Partners. The restaurant should be ready to open in April or May, he said.
Chipotle will be built in front of the Hobby Lobby store that is under construction at One Promenade, immediately west of The Promenade shopping center in D’Iberville. Other restaurants open at One Promenade, which is owned by Southeast Commercial in Gulfport, are Mugshots Grill & Bar and Zaxby’s.
Steamline Development Partners purchased the property about a month ago, Pegram said, and will build the Chipotle restaurant and lease it to the company.
Pegram said they own a remaining parcel next to the Chipotle site and are working with other national tenants and restaurants to bring them to the Coast market.
Renderings of the new Chipolte Mexican Grill coming to D’Iberville Courtesy of Streamline Development Partners
Chipotle is a natural
The reasons Coast residents crave a Chipotle likely are the fresh ingredients and the big flavors.
Fresh vegetables prepared on site are the hallmarks of the Chipolte menu. South Mississippi’s first Chipolte Mexican Grill will open next year. Courtesy of Chipolte
“Chipotle was born of the radical belief that there is a connection between how food is raised and prepared, and how it tastes,” the company website says. “Real is better. Better for You, Better for People, Better for our planet. It may be the hard way to do things, but it’s the right way.”
Their food is prepared without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. There are no freezers, can openers or shortcuts, the company says, and lists all 53 ingredients on its website.
On the menu
The D’Iberville Chipotle will be built to the latest prototype, Pegram said, where people can dine in or drive through the “Chipotlane.” Unlike the traditional drive-thru lane, this has no order board. Instead customers order on the Chipotle app and drive thru to pick up their food.
Among the menu choices are burritos and burrito bowls with a choose protein or veggie, white or brown rice, type of beans and toppings. The salads come in varieties like Mexican, keto, vegetarian and Vegan to fit all lifestyles.
Lifestyle bowls let customers at Chipotle Mexican Grill stick to their preferred diets, whether Keto, Vegan, vegetarian or their favorite Mexican. Courtesy of Chipotle
Other choices are lifestyle bowls, quesadillas and tacos with a choice of freshly grilled meat or sofritas served in a soft or hard-shell tortilla with a choice of toppings.
Just introduced is the Garlic Guajillo Steak, which customers will be able to sample in person or in the metaverse through the Chipotle Grill Simulator experience on Roblox.
Chipotle has over 3,000 restaurants and 100,000 employees.
“We are pleased to work with the developer to bring a great brand restaurant to the Gulf Coast,” said Monte Luffey, a principal at Southeast Commercial.
Pegram is based in Oxford, which is one of the other locations of Chipotle in Mississippi. Streamline Development Partners is a regional development company working in nearly a dozen states throughout the southeast.
Coast residents will be able to order the popular Chipolte burritos and other favorites next spring. Courtesy of Chipotle
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
Mary has won numerous awards for her business and casino articles for the Sun Herald. She also writes about Biloxi, jobs and the new restaurants and development coming to the Coast. She is a fourth-generation journalist.
