Could Chipotle come to Norwalk?

NORWALK — This week, rumors have circulated around Norwalk that a Chipotle Mexican Grill could be coming to the town of Norwalk. While Norwalk Mayor Dave Light can't confirm the specific rumor, he did have positive things to say about Norwalk's future. "I can't officially confirm it," Light said of Chipotle coming to Norwalk. "But I could say that I would love to have it and I would say that there are some pretty exciting things coming to Norwalk." The old lot where Firelands Federal Credit Union was bought in December 2019 for $160,000 by Shelly J. Smetzer Trustee, who owns Smetzer Kitchen and Appliance Center, is believed to be a spot where the new business could be placed. While there is no definite answer on Chipotle potentially coming to Norwalk, Light believes that in general, the town of Norwalk is due for some pretty big expansion soon. "Several years ago we had some meetings with some people that had seen everything going on with Sandusky downtown, not only Cedar Point but Kalahari, Huron and everything. We feel that Norwalk is ripe for expansion and good things are coming to Norwalk," Light said. The city of Norwalk and a group called Creative Minds that Light helped establish when he got into the office of the mayor have already been hard at work trying to liven up uptown Norwalk. "They (Creative Minds) are a group of people that I felt were movers and shakers of Norwalk, people that want good things to happen to Norwalk and can make things happen," Light said. "I hate to use the term bipartisan, we wanted to leave politics out of the whole thing. Anytime that you mix politics with anything it always goes sour. Most recently, they have had some success with "Munchie Mondays" at Suhr Park and are looking to build upon that. "Munchie Mondays had a big turnout out Monday night, we had four food trucks up there so that has been going well. Restore Norwalk has also been working on raising money for a Splash Pad in Suhr Park and that has been going good," Light said. Light also said that new restrooms should be coming in the next few months to uptown Norwalk as they look to draw more traffic to the area. A statue of Paul Brown, the professional and college football coaching legend who lived in Norwalk until he was 9 years old, is also in the planning process for uptown Norwalk as well. Most recently, the city has been working on making the local playgrounds better and it started with McGuan Park. The city put new pump tracks and a new basketball court in and has plans for an all-accessible playground for handicapped children. A lot of the playground equipment has come in but the entire playground won't be finished until September. Light and the plan to have the grand opening for the playground on Sept. 1.