Chipotle has signed a lease for a 2,384-square-foot space at 2715 W. Market St. in Fairlawn Town Center, putting the burrito chain squarely in one of Summit County's busiest retail corridors. The shopping center is near Summit Mall, in a stretch of Fairlawn that has also seen restaurant openings in 2026.
Richard Edelman, Senior Vice President and Principal, and Danny Popov, Sales Associate, both of Goodman Real Estate Services Group LLC, represented Chipotle in negotiating the lease, according to Goodman Real Estate Services Group LLC. The brokerage handles Chipotle's tenant representation across Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. As Cleveland.com reports, Fairlawn Town Center already houses Target, Giant Eagle, Marc's, Ashley Furniture, Pet Supplies Plus, SweetFrog Frozen Yogurt, and a U.S. Postal Service location.
The move did not happen overnight. City planning records show a September 2025 conditional-use request for drive-thru service at 2755 W. Market Street. That request predates the lease by roughly a year.
A Corridor in Transition
West Market Street, also known as Ohio State Route 18, has been reshaping itself all year. Fairlawn's Skyway Drive-In, a 74-year-old landmark at 2781 W. Market St. just down the road from the new Chipotle site, served its final burgers this past July before closing to make way for a Dutch Bros Coffee drive-thru, as Hoodline detailed in its report on the drive-in's last run.
Dave's Hot Chicken opened nearby in April, and Condado Tacos arrived at Summit Mall in June, adding two more fast-casual chains to a corridor that was already crowded. Chipotle will not be new to the region generally — the chain already operates other locations, and the Fairlawn store would add another.
Why Fairlawn, Why Now
The reasons for the choice are not detailed in the sources cited here. The corridor includes Summit Mall and other retail businesses, but the sources do not establish that spending power or daytime traffic made it an obvious target for national chains.
Chipotle serves burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, and the company has been growing aggressively nationwide. Founded in 1993 and based in Newport Beach, California, the chain now operates roughly 4,100 restaurants across every U.S. state except Alaska and Hawaii, including more than 260 locations in Ohio. Chipotle opened its 4,000th restaurant in Manhattan, Kansas, in December 2025 as part of a long-term push toward 7,000 North American stores, according to Newsweek. The company also recently opened its first restaurant in Asia, in Seoul, South Korea.
The Chipotlane Factor
Roughly 80% of new Chipotle openings now include a Chipotlane, the chain's digital pickup drive-thru where mobile orders are typically ready for pickup in under 30 seconds, per Chipotle Mexican Grill. The company launched the format in 2018 to boost digital order volume without the delays of a traditional drive-thru.
Chipotle is also rolling out kitchen upgrades meant to speed up service further. A High-Efficiency Equipment Package featuring dual-sided griddles and automated produce slicers is being deployed to 2,000 restaurants by the end of 2026, according to Fast Company, with internal testing showing the new equipment can cut daily prep time by hours per store. The sources do not specify whether the Fairlawn location will feature a drive-thru pickup lane like the one Hoodline reported at Chipotle's third Massillon store.
The available reports do not provide an opening date for the Fairlawn location.
