Chipotle opened a second location in Athens at 960 E. State St. at the end of 2024, sparking comparisons among students to the original location at 41 S. Court St.
Jillian Wallace, a senior studying nursing, said she prefers the new location to the old.
“I love Chipotle to begin with, and now I tend to go to the East State Street one,” Wallace said. “I just feel like they give bigger portions, and they also have a really friendly staff.”
The Google reviews, however, contradict student opinions. The Chipotle on East State Street has a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars with 45 Google reviews, while the one on Court Street is rated 3.9 out of 5 stars with 514 Google reviews.
“This place hasn’t been around long at all but really just needs more people working here,” one Google review giving the location one star wrote. “Been about 6 times at different times of day, and they’re almost always out of about half of the ingredients … This place was trashed, garbage piled everywhere.”
Emma Schroer, a freshman studying commercial photography, said she thinks the Court Street Chipotle has been out of various ingredients, chips, silverware, bags or to-go lids, which she said was frustrating.
Schroer and her friends first went to the Chipotle on East State Street after seeing the garbage can filled to the brim and the line out the door at the Chipotle on Court Street.
“We immediately turned around, and we were like ‘it's too packed,’” Schroer said. “We just didn't want to risk them not having everything … We went to the State Street (Chipotle) and they had everything.”
Reagan Neal, a sophomore studying journalism, said the Court Street location’s long lines, dirty work stations and overfilled trash cans make it feel like it is trying to force out a product.
Neal said he values an establishment that values customer service, and most of the customers at the Court Street location are college students who only want good Chipotle.
“A lot of the time, the employees are college students,” Neal said. “Obviously, cleanliness of a store might not be on a higher ranking of importance.”
The East State Street Chipotle also has a Chipotlane, allowing people to place their orders in the Chipotle app and pick up their food without leaving their vehicle.
“Chipotlanes make up over 25% of our restaurants and provide a fast and convenient guest experience while increasing new restaurant sales, margins, and returns,” Erin Wolford, Chipotle’s Vice President of Communications, wrote in an email. “We’re excited to now offer our guests in Athens this option.”
Wallace said she goes to the location at East State Street because of the Chipotlane, proximity and parking lot.
“(The Chipotlane) just makes it more convenient,” Wallace said. “It's hard to park on Court Street or find a parking spot to go into that Chipotle, and I just heard they fill up your portions more at the new one, so I just started going to that one, and ever since, I stayed at that one.”
Most students said they still plan to go to the Court Street Chipotle because of its proximity and their lack of transportation to the East State Street location.
“I have a car here, but I don't use it a lot unless I need to go somewhere,” Neal said. “Usually, if I want to go eat somewhere, it's somewhere I can just walk to, so I'm not going to go (drive) to Chipotle if I can already walk to Chipotle.”
Wallace said she thinks there are still a lot of chains Athens needs, rather than a second Chipotle.
“They could (give us) something we don't have instead of two Chipotles, like a chain or restaurant that isn't in Athens because we have a lot that aren't here,” Wallace said.
Other students, however, feel the opposite. Schroer said the East State Street location gives another option for when the Court Street one is too packed.
“People who live in Athens probably don't want to go to the Court (Street) one because they know it's always going to be packed,” Schroer said. “I think having a different diversity and variety for one, where you live, and two, just to have the option, is nice.”
