TEJON RANCH, CA-Tejon Ranch Co. has signed the Chipotle Mexican Grill to a long-term lease for a new location at the company's freeway commercial center off the Laval Road exit of Interstate 5 just south of Highway 99. Chipotle will occupy a new retail building now under construction at the freeway travel center, a master-planned location where Southern California and the Central Valley come together.

The new restaurant is expected to open in late fall, occupying 2,888 square feet of a new 4,500-square-foot retail building. The additional 1,612 square feet in the new building is available for lease.

Chipotle will join a mix of national retailers and hospitality providers already established at the Tejon Ranch freeway commercial center, including: a recently opened TA Travel Center with full service amenities; a full-service Petro Travel Center featuring a sit-down restaurant; Best Western Hotel; Starbucks; In-N-Out Burger; Panda Express; McDonalds; Subway; and Wendys.

In the lease agreement with Chipotle, Tejon Ranch was represented by its retail leasing team from NAI Capital, Bert Abel and John Cserkuti. Chipotle was represented by Robert Haas of Cypress Retail Group.

Hugh McMahon, vice president for commercial and industrial real estate at Tejon Ranch says that, as part of its master plan for nearly 1,450 acres of commercial and industrial real estate development at Tejon Industrial Complex, the company plans more than 400,000 square feet of retail space. The retail development will serve the nearly 79,000 vehicles that pass the site each day as well as the center's growing work force.

TIC is home to more than three million square feet of warehouse facilities and approximately 1,000 employees, including IKEA's Western North American Distribution Center and Famous Footwear's West Coast Distribution Center.