OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Pictured is an artist’s rendering of a proposed Chipotle restaurant previously approved to be located in the town of Dunkirk.

Chipotle and 7 Brew are both still moving forward with plans to come to the town of Dunkirk, but the process is taking a little longer than anticipated.

Ryan Mourer, Code Enforcement Officer, has been in contact with representatives from Chipotle since the project was approved by the Planning Board in August. Chipotle originally planned to start construction shortly after it was issued a building permit this fall, but the plans have changed due to the weather.

“They were hoping to start in October. Unfortunately, the weather is going bad quick, so they have asked to be able to start in March,” Mourer said.

Mourer stated when the project was approved that it was out of the ordinary for construction to begin this late in the year due to weather. Mourer is working with Chipotle to issue a building permit to allow for construction to begin in March or April, depending on the weather. The fees will be paid in advance of work this year.

As for 7 Brew, the preexisting structure on site at Plaza 59, formerly known as Lightning Lube, has been demolished. During the demolition, 7 Brew and Mourer determined there were contamination issues at the site due to oil and other materials that seeped into the soil at the abandoned site. Mourer stated that, “without pushback”, 7 Brew agreed to do additional excavation, removal, and backfill of the site “to protect the town” from the contaminated soil.

Chipotle’s plans call for a newly constructed building totaling 2,325 square feet located in the front of the parking lot of the plaza that includes Harbor Freight, DaVita, and Five Below on Vineyard Drive.

The plans for 7 Brew call for a prefabricated building to be installed and hooked up at the former Lightning Lube site within days after the site work is completed. Mourer stated previously that the timeframe for 7 Brew to be open is approximately 90 days after a permit is issued, but the additional work to remedy the contaminated soil has pushed back the timeline. Roughly $100,000 was already invested in the process by 7 Brew prior to its official approval by the Planning Board earlier this year.

“Some very large chains have been looking in our area to come in here. It’s good things for the town. It’s a good tax base to bring into the town to hopefully keep our taxes down,” Mourer said. “We have a really good town and there’s a lot of good things going on in the town.”

In the month of September, the Town Clerk’s Office collected a total of $2,047, including $1,725 in zoning fees. The Town of Dunkirk Justice Court handled a total of 234 cases in the month of September, including 198 vehicle and traffic law cases and 24 penal law cases, resulting in $18,873 in revenue for the town.