Chipotle Mexican Grill coming to Cross Country Plaza by this fall

Fans of Chipotle Mexican Grill will have a second Columbus location on their menu by this fall, with the casual eatery heading for Cross Country Plaza on Macon Road.

The establishment is locating in a 2,700-square-foot space that was home to Radio Shack, which closed its doors last year amid a company-wide liquidation. The spot is adjacent to 2nd and Charles and highly visible from Macon Road.

“We start construction on it Monday, so I think they are shooting for fall. So I would say probably September-October,” Cross Country property manager Vickie Smith said Thursday of Chipotle’s expected debut at the 3201 Macon Road shopping center.

Chipotle already has a location at 5295 Whittlesey Blvd., in the Columbus Park Crossing shopping and dining area of north Columbus. Founded in 1993, the Denver-based chain that serves up burritos, tacos, salads and bowls of food now operates more than 1,700 restaurants.

Smith said Cross Country Plaza is working to add more food outlets, with a prime spot being positioned for redevelopment where a vacant 20,000-square-foot strip center now stands on Auburn Avenue, adjacent to Tire Engineers. She said the center hopes to land a large sit-down restaurant such as Cheddar’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday.

“We would like to tear it down completely and totally redevelop that,” she said. “We’re looking to take it down and probably put a 6,000-square-foot space there. ... We’ve got a couple of people looking, but nothing definite yet.”

Another tenant entering the center by August is Covington Credit, which is taking 1,800 square feet of space near Subway. The business has been operating on Wynnton Road. That will leave seven spaces available at the shopping center, with the largest one in a corner that has been tougher than most to fill. The largest available space there is 14,000 square feet.

Cross Country Plaza was built in 1957 and is considered the city’s oldest shopping center. The 400,000-square-foot center is anchored by a Publix supermarket, OfficeMax, T.J.Maxx and 2nd and Charles. Atlanta-based Coro Realty Advisors acquired the center from Glenwood Development Co. in June 2013, paying $36.6 million.

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Chipotle Mexican Grill coming to Cross Country Plaza by this fall."