Garfield Township reviews Chipotle drive-through proposal at Grand Traverse Mall

Garfield Township planners reviewed a proposal that would turn part of the former Macy’s parking area at Grand Traverse Mall into a 2,385-square-foot Chipotle with a pickup window and 16 parking spaces, a plan that could change how drivers move through one of the county’s busiest retail corridors.

The restaurant would not include a sit-down dining room. Instead, Chipotle Mexican Grill would rely on mobile orders and on-site pickup at 3400 S. Airport Road, with the project carved out as a 0.43-acre outlot from the larger mall parcel. Township staff recommended approval with conditions that include a land division, landscaping and an internal sidewalk connection that could eventually link to a future South Airport Road sidewalk.

That location puts the project squarely on South Airport Road, which Garfield Township leaders have described as a critical regional corridor where summer traffic can climb above 50,000 vehicles. The road runs about six miles from Silver Lake Road to Three Mile Road and carries mall traffic, commuters, airport trips and shoppers headed to other nearby commercial sites, including Cherry Capital Airport and the Boardman River crossing.

Deputy Planning Commissioner Stephen Hannon said the concept was exciting for the community, but he also raised practical concerns about how the queue would function and whether it could back up into the former Macy’s access drive. Those questions now sit at the center of the township review, since no construction schedule has been set and the developer still must satisfy township requirements and secure permits before work can begin.

The Planning Commission, which generally meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Township Hall, will continue to weigh the site plan and special-use elements before the project can move forward. Garfield Township adopted a new master plan in July 2024 and amended it in January 2026, and the Chipotle proposal arrives as officials continue broader corridor planning that could eventually encourage driveway consolidation, better parking-lot design and cross-access between commercial parcels.

The project also reflects the changing shape of the mall property itself. Macy’s confirmed in October 2024 that it had sold its Grand Traverse Mall store and would lease it back through early 2025, a closure that marked the second anchor departure from the mall in less than a year after T.J. Maxx relocated in 2024. Lormax Stern later bought the Macy’s site and said in February 2026 that construction had commenced, with some tenants expected to open in 2027 and others in 2028.