Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching its latest restaurant in South Jersey.

Located at 241 White Horse Pike in Barrington, the popular fast-casual Mexican chain began serving up its customizable burritos, tacos, salads and bowls Oct. 24.

Founded in 1993, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based eatery’s nationwide footprint of 3,500 restaurants includes 103 eateries in New Jersey.

The new location in Barrington also has the brand’s signature “Chipotlane,” a drive-thru service that allows customers to retrieve digital orders from their cars. After introducing the option at some restaurants in 2018, Chipotle has added it to more than 800 stores across the U.S.

In recent months, Chipotle has ramped up its rollout of Chipotlanes in New Jersey. Besides Barrington, drive-thrus are available at more than two dozen Chipotles statewide, including Cape May Court House, Bridgeton, Mount Laurel, Absecon, Vineland, Phillipsburg, North Brunswick, Burlington, Paramus, Toms River, Forked River, Manahawkin, Edison, Shrewsbury, Watchung and East Windsor.

Of the 285 to 315 restaurants Chipotle expects to open nationwide in 2024, more than 80% will include drive-thrus, company executives said earlier this year.

Drive-thru drives sales

During Chipotle’s second quarter earnings call in July, the company said the format not only enhances guest access and convenience but also increases new location sales, margins and returns.

Chipotlanes typically have about 15% higher sales than a traditional restaurant, with the current average unit volume at around $3 million, the company said, noting that even though the feature is available in about only a quarter of the chain’s system, its margins are hundreds of basis points higher.

Following its grand opening in Barrington, Chipotle will be open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The newly opened location was formerly the Time Out Sports Bar and Grill. The restaurant relocated to Gloucester City in December 2021 but wound up closing permanently about 10 months later, according to the Courier Post.

Hiring efforts are also underway, according to Chipotle.

Benefits include a crew bonus with the opportunity to earn an extra month’s worth of pay each year, a debt-free college program, English as a second language program and access to mental health care resources for employees and their families.