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The 1,300-seat new restaurant complex going up in Echo Park will not only include a Chipotle, but a reopened Starbucks.
The new development on the south side of Sunset Boulevard near Alvarado, known as Mohawk Collective, will house at least eight new restaurants, according to the Eastsider. They’ve applied to sell alcohol and/or beer and wine at at least eight of the restaurants, which presumably would include those sweet Chipolte margaritas, as the new burrito chain location is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2017, according to Chipotle’s public relations and communications manager, Danielle Moore.
Meanwhile, Starbucks, which had already operated at the now-closed Lucy’s LaundryMart building on the same stretch, will open a location in the new complex next spring. Said a Starbucks spokesperson: “We’re always looking for great locations to better meet the needs of our customers and are happy to be returning to the community.”
Some folks on Twitter, naturally, were not too happy about the news.
Def don't need a chipotle in Echo Park, way to ruin the neighborhood
— Buddy Nielsen (@buddythechud) November 5, 2016
If you think #gentrification in #BoyleHeights is bad, A CHIPOTLE IS OPENING IN #ECHOPARK. https://t.co/ahcZbriNHT
— Militant Angeleno (@militantangleno) November 4, 2016
Echo park is getting a chipotle. 😒I like chipotle but honestly this makes me sad for the neighborhood.
— Makeup Artist (@DanaDelaneyMUA) November 4, 2016
Tenants that previously resided on the strip had to relocate in the spring as the Continental Development Group bought and announced plans to redevelop the block. Shops like Wells Tile & Antiques and Eric’s Architectural Salvage, which shared a space for 25 years, had to close shop by June 1 of this year.
Echo Park isn’t the only neighborhood dealing with disagreement over gentrification lately, as tensions in Boyle Heights recently have mounted to profanity-laden vandalism against art galleries in the neighborhood.
