A Chipotle Mexican Grill would be one tenant of a new 10,000-square-foot commercial building on Clairemont Avenue. (Source: Logic Design & Architecture)

Are those burritos we smell? Eau Claire could be a two-Chipotle town as soon as next year. A developer wants to build a 10,000-square-foot multi-tenant commercial building – which would include a Chipotle restaurant with a drive-through (a.k.a. a “Chipotlane”) – near the former Shopko on Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire.

On Monday, Nov. 16, the Eau Claire Plan Commission will consider approved a site plan for the building, which would be built in an outlot to the north of the vacant Shopko building, east of a Starbucks and west of another shopping center, whose tenants include a Jimmy John’s sandwich shop.

Logic Design & Architecture Inc. of Milwaukee and and Market Lane, Sommers LCC of Oshkosh sought the Plan Commission’s approval for the new building. Their plan calls for the structure to have up to four tenants, including a Chipotle Mexican Grill and Shopko Optical, which are already under contract. The other two spaces would be filled at a later date, a city report says.

According to the architectural firm, the building will feature a 300-square-foot outdoor patio area. As soon as the building’s shell is completed in late spring, the two tenants are expected to build out their interiors.

In a draft memo to Logic Design & Architecture, Associate City Planner Ryan Petrie asked the company to, among other things, revise its site plan to add a pedestrian connection to the building from a crosswalk and to add bicycle parking.

Eau Claire’s current Chipotle restaurant is near Oakwood Mall at 4738 Golf Road. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the fast-casual chain has reported surging sales this year, including a 200% year-over-year increase in digital sales during the third quarter. There are more than 2,600 Chipotle restaurants nationwide, the company says.