Chipotle Opens at Eastlake Marketplace, Debuts Drive-Through

The just-opened Chipotle Mexican Grill at Eastlake Marketplace on the corner of U.S. Interstate 10 and Eastlake Blvd. is offering something every other Chipotle in town can’t. No, it’s not a new kind of burrito or bowl. It’s a drive-through lane.

They call it the "Chipotlane,” and El Paso’s eighth and newest Chipotle is the first in El Paso to have one. Customers at that specific location can pick up digital orders without having to get out of their car. Because walking is for suckers, amirite?

There’s a catch, though. It is not a traditional drive-through. You can’t just drive up on a whim and yell out your order of chips and guac at the speakerbox before proceeding to the window for pickup.

The Chipotlane is strictly for online or mobile app ordering pick up only. In fact, you won’t even find a speakerbox in a Chipotlane.

Here’s how the process works, in a nutshell. You first place the order through the restaurant mobile app or website. Choose to pickup via drive-thru, choose pickup time so your food is ready when you get there. Pay online, then pick it up IRL. Welcome to 2021, Boomer. It’s a new world we’re living in, grandpa.

But if you still prefer pulling into a drive thru, staring at the menu for a minute, then telling the disembodied voice that greets you, “let me have a … ummm … Number 1 … No, wait … ummm … hold on, let me look,” there’s also a Burger King, Whataburger, and McDonalds there.