Update: (5/5/11 10 p.m.) According to a post on the Facebook group page, Chipotle will be moving the sign in the next few days.
From the Facebook post:
I checked with our team responsible for our Fayetteville location, and they have made the decision to remove the Chipotle sign and relocate it. The original sign was completely protected and is not damaged in any way. We are beginning this process in the next couple of days. Please tell everyone not to worry, the sign is still there! We appreciate your support, and we look forward to seeing you soon! -Ashley-Chipotle
A growing number of Fayetteville residents are protesting the fact that a chain restaurant logo has taken the place of a popular city landmark.
A Chipotle Mexican Grill sign was put up earlier this week and now completely covers one of three “Fayetteville” markers on the Frisco Depot building at 550 W. Dickson Street.
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1988, the building has since been home to a handful of businesses including Häagen-Dazs and WOW Japanese Bistro, however, no previous tenants placed signs over the front lettering.
As of Thursday morning, nearly 300 residents had joined a Facebook group, “Make Chipotle put the Fayetteville sign back up” in protest.
“I promise not to eat there until they do put ‘Fayetteville’ back up,” commented one local resident.
“You’ve got to be able to see “Fayetteville”. That is a big part of the building’s appeal!” wrote another.
We spoke to a Chipotle Construction employee Thursday morning who told us that the “Fayetteville” lettering is still intact.
“It’s still under there, and it’s fine,” he said. “I wish we could’ve left it, but we have to follow the (construction) plans.”
He also said that his company had received more than 30 emails about the sign in the last few days.
The Fayetteville sign at the back of the building, as well as the one on the west side are still visible.
A Chiptotle spokesperson responded to some of the Facebook comments on Thursday, and it looks like the company has no intentions of moving their sign.
Okay, I looked into this further. Two of the three signs for this train station that say “Fayetteville” are still visible. We’ve covered the one in front and preserved it completely, and this approach was agreed to up front and approved by the city of Fayetteville.
We made no other alterations to the exterior of this building. We repainted and matched the existing color and replaced almost all the windows and matched the existing style and color. Then put a lot of effort into the interior, as it required a significant amount of refurbishing as well. Hopefully after we open everyone will see the effort we put into making this a great restaurant for your city. I hope this helps. – Joe
Chipotle is set to open at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 10.
Before the Chipotle sign
After the Chipotle sign
Back of the building
