After a school year with limited places to eat on Georgia Avenue near Howard University’s campus, one of the restaurants is making a return near campus. Chipotle is back.
Last year, The Hilltop reported on the closure of popular restaurants once located in Wonder Plaza — including Chipotle, Subway, Potbelly and Negril. After the closures, students said their access to affordable and reliable food options within walking distance of campus was significantly limited. With Chipotle, which according to D.C. community site PoPville is set to open on Aug. 31, returning, students including Essence Owens are looking forward to their selection widening again.
“I feel like a lot of people would benefit from [Chipotle opening] because it’s close,” Owens, a junior criminology major from East Orange, New Jersey, said.
“I’m not a big Chipotle lover, but I would settle with it because of the proteins and stuff,” Owens, who had Chipotle in her off-campus dining rotation when it was on Georgia Avenue, added. “I think everyone’s going to enjoy that.”
The new location is behind Howard Plaza Towers West, near the Whole Foods Market and Café Unido Shaw. It is approximately a five-minute walk from the original location and a 10-minute walk from The Yard.
Lydia Sermons, vice president of communications and chief communications officer, said the reopening of Chipotle is not affiliated with the university.
“Howard University has no role in establishing any off-campus dining locations,” she said. “What I can say is we encourage all students to engage with the numerous dining options here on campus.”
While on-campus food options such as Chick-fil-A, Bison Brew and the dining halls provide accessibility to students on campus, there still are some barriers, including cost and hours of operation, said Alexandra Walker, a senior political science major from Richmond, Virginia.
“Given the limited affordable options near campus coupled with the dining halls having limited hours, I think it’s really important for students, especially those who live off campus, to have affordable options nearby,” she said.
Although bringing back Chipotle excites many Howard University students, some still have concerns, suggesting that there is more work to be done. Ciara Latham, a senior legal communications major from Columbus, Ohio, said she “tries to eat clean,” and having so many fast-food restaurants does not allow her to meet her health goals while on a budget.
“Solving the food source issue with fast-food chains is like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole,” Latham said.
The lack of options nearby has led some students, like Kyle Quarles, a freshman honors accounting major from Houston, to travel farther away to eat.
“Annex is kind of mid. I mean, the [dining hall] options are kind of limited as well,” Quarles said. “I moved in early, so McDonald’s and Chic-fil-A got really, really old, really, really fast.”
A fan of Chipotle, Quarles has been taking the train to restaurants in Columbia Heights for more options and to avoid crowds on campus.
“[Chick-fil-A is] there, but it’s really crowded…so I’ve been taking the train to Columbia Heights and other small places to go get food.”
From The Yard, the trip to the Columbia Heights Chipotle is around 20 minutes when relying on public transportation, nearly double the time it will take to get to the new location.
Daryn O’Neal and Elijah Spencer contributed to this report.
Copy edited by Jori Johnson