Bellingham is getting another Chipotle, but with a new twist on its build-your-own setup

Chipotle, the chain restaurant known for its build-your-own style Mexican food, is planning a new Whatcom County location but the upcoming restaurant has a major surprise up its sleeve.

Chipotle first filed a city building permit for a new restaurant on Sept. 13 with an estimated cost of $697,153. The restaurant is planned to be at 104 Samish Way, a former Pizza Hut restaurant location.

The new restaurant is planned to open this summer, according to an email from Annie Gradinger with Chipotle’s external communications.

But this chain restaurant will be unique compared to other Chipotles in the area, as it will have a drive-thru called a “Chipotlane.”

This is not your traditional drive-thru, as the “Chipotlane”, will be a drive-thru pickup lane that will allow customers to pick up their orders made in the app without getting out of their car. New orders cannot be placed in the drive-thru.

The new restaurant will also create new jobs in Bellingham, as “there are on average 30 jobs per restaurant with competitive benefits,” Gradinger wrote.

Employee benefits include a debt-free college degree program, access to mental healthcare for employees and their families and the opportunity for yearly bonuses of an extra month’s worth of pay.

Gradinger did not say when the restaurant would list job openings.

Chipotle’s only current Whatcom County location is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. inside the Bellis Fair mall at 1 Bellis Fair Parkway in Bellingham.