Chipotle restaurant will be 16th for Norwich’s Salem Turnpike

Eatery to join fast food lineup on busy road

Norwich — A drive from the Interstate 395 Exit 11 ramp to the Norwich marina will take you past 15 chain restaurants, most of them fast food, including two Dunkin's and a Starbucks, along with several local restaurants.

Come spring, a 16th chain restaurant option might be coming at the junction of Salem Turnpike-Route 82 and Surrey Lane.

Salem Norwich LLC has applied for city permits to build a Chipotle restaurant with a drive-through lane on four small parcels that house three houses at 26 and 30 Salem Turnpike, 53 Surrey Lane and 2 Twins Court. A person at Norwich Salem LLC, who declined to give his name, said construction would likely be done in spring if the permits are approved.

The property is zoned for commercial development and the application does not need a public hearing, Assistant City Planner Dan Daniska said. The Commission on the City Plan will review the proposal at its meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

The plans call for a 2,432-square-foot restaurant with drive-through and two retail spaces, one at 3,120 square feet and a smaller one at 1,080 square feet. The restaurant is labeled for a Chipotle, while the retail spaces are not yet identified.

“I think it would be well received as a different option,” Daniska said of the Chipotle.

The plan shows one entrance on Surrey Lane, which has a traffic light at Route 82, and a second entrance and exit drive on Route 82 without a light. Daniska said staff are looking closely at the Route 82 entrance and will consider whether to recommend it be a right-turn-only entrance on the busy four-lane commercial strip nicknamed “Crash Alley” for frequent vehicle accidents.

Daniska said he also referred the developer to the state Department of Transportation, which is working on a major overhaul of Route 82, including six proposed roundabouts and a median divider to prevent left turns at un-signaled intersections.

The Surrey Lane intersection is included in Phase 2 of the proposed road overhaul project, slated for road improvements but not for a roundabout or median divider, according to a project description provided by DOT.