The Food Biz: Awaiting Chipotle's arrival

Also: Emerging local burger joint extends its hours [From our print edition featured in Monday's City Paper]

Email | Print By Carrington Fox

The arrival of Chipotle Mexican Grill in Nashville draws nigh, as construction (or Burrito-fication, as the company dubs the build-out process) continues on stores in West End and Green Hills.

The popular chain of fast-casual, taco-burrito restaurants will launch stores at 2825 West End Avenue — in the Park Place shopping center location that formerly housed Bittner’s Formal Wear — and at 3900 Hillsboro Pike — in the recently refurbished strip mall with Fox’s Donut Den and Ten Thousand Villages.

According to company officials, the West End store is slated to debut in late November or early December, with the Green Hills store set to open in early to mid-December. Hiring for both locations is underway with applications being collected at the West End location.

Founded in 1993 in Colorado and once partly owned by McDonald’s Corp., Chipotle now operates approximately 900 stores.

Gabby’s extends its Fridays

Road construction and interminable detours behind Greer Stadium don’t seem to have hurt Gabby’s Burgers and Fries, named best burger in the Nashville Scene’s recent “Best Of Nashville” issue.

While TDOT crews have demolished parts of Chestnut Street leading toward and away from Gabby’s — which is housed in the former location of Hap Townes restaurant — the determined lunch crowd is finding its way to 493 Humphreys St., where owner Doug Havron serves up a tight lunch roster of burgers, sweet potatoes fries, chili and chocolate-covered Nutter Butters to a line of folks that runs out the door.

Based on the steady flow of loyal traffic, Havron is extending the hours on Friday to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, it’s lunch business as usual from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

— For more on Nashville’s restaurant scene, visit blogs.nashvillescene.com/bites.