Mexican Restaurant Banned From Selling Tacos, Burritos in Chipotle Deal

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Gonzalez y Gonzalez, the popular Greenwich Village Mexican restaurant that closed last year to make way for a Chipotle, has been allowed back into part of its old space under a bizarre deal that bans it from selling tacos, burritos and other Tex-Mex staples.

Known for its massive sombrero, Mexican food and plentiful drinks, Gonzalez y Gonzalez devastated fans when it closed its doors at 625 Broadway in January 2011 to make way for the burrito chain Chipotle.

But under an agreement with the building, Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been allowed back into half of its former home — under condition that it alter its menu to get rid of any items that are also served by its fast-food neighbor, DNAinfo has learned.

"We cannot sell tacos, burritos or fajitas," said co-owner Evan Cohen, who has worked at Gonzalez y Gonzalez for more than 20 years.

"We had to be creative .... it was part of our lease that we wouldn't sell them. We worked it out."

The new menu — which rolled out as dinner only during its soft opening Thursday — focuses on "Mexico City style street food" including huraches, which are corn meal pancakes with cilantro and other toppings; $3 Mexican hot dogs wrapped in bacon; and tortas, or Mexican sandwiches.

Reps for Chipotle's corporate office did not immediately return calls for comment.

Gonzalez y Gonzalez began having trouble about two years ago when 625 Broadway went into foreclosure and its month-to-month lease was terminated, Cohen said previously.

The restaurant bid on the space in an attempt to stay, but a competing bid from Chipotle won.

After a bankruptcy court judge ruled in favor of Chipotle, Gonzalez y Gonzalez was given 30 days notice to vacate the building, and closed its doors at the end of January 2011.

Read more: HERE

I don't know about you but to me this stinks of corporate greed and manipulation.

How can a business be limited as to what they can and cannot sell?

PurpleJedi said:

Mexican Restaurant Banned From Selling Tacos, Burritos in Chipotle Deal

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Gonzalez y Gonzalez, the popular Greenwich Village Mexican restaurant that closed last year to make way for a Chipotle, has been allowed back into part of its old space under a bizarre deal that bans it from selling tacos, burritos and other Tex-Mex staples.

Known for its massive sombrero, Mexican food and plentiful drinks, Gonzalez y Gonzalez devastated fans when it closed its doors at 625 Broadway in January 2011 to make way for the burrito chain Chipotle.

But under an agreement with the building, Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been allowed back into half of its former home — under condition that it alter its menu to get rid of any items that are also served by its fast-food neighbor, DNAinfo has learned.

"We cannot sell tacos, burritos or fajitas," said co-owner Evan Cohen, who has worked at Gonzalez y Gonzalez for more than 20 years.

"We had to be creative .... it was part of our lease that we wouldn't sell them. We worked it out."

The new menu — which rolled out as dinner only during its soft opening Thursday — focuses on "Mexico City style street food" including huraches, which are corn meal pancakes with cilantro and other toppings; $3 Mexican hot dogs wrapped in bacon; and tortas, or Mexican sandwiches.

Reps for Chipotle's corporate office did not immediately return calls for comment.

Gonzalez y Gonzalez began having trouble about two years ago when 625 Broadway went into foreclosure and its month-to-month lease was terminated, Cohen said previously.

The restaurant bid on the space in an attempt to stay, but a competing bid from Chipotle won.

After a bankruptcy court judge ruled in favor of Chipotle, Gonzalez y Gonzalez was given 30 days notice to vacate the building, and closed its doors at the end of January 2011.

Read more: HERE

I don't know about you but to me this stinks of corporate greed and manipulation.

How can a business be limited as to what they can and cannot sell?

it sounds like shit BUT they decided to sign the contract.

i guess they still have the ability to pull in hella bucks,

in that area, without sellin certain things...

BUT A MEXICAN FOOD JOINT that CANNOT SELL TACOs & BURRITOs???

whut part of the game is this?

Okay, I read the entire article you linked to - and I still have no idea what the full story is here. I mean...they didn't even answer basic questions - who owns the building, why there's a conditional lease (or if, in fact, there really is a conditional lease).

I can't form a judgment because there's so much missing information.

I will say, however, that my favorite Mexican restaurant in Madison is located right next door to a Taco Bell. They do a whole fried tilapia that is

sometimes the commercial lease between building owner and tenant addresses which tenants are permitted to lease space in the building and what they are allowed to sell. often, the landlord will 'sweeten the deal' for a prospective tenant by offering a 'non-competition' clause which reserves for said tenant the sole right to sell certain foods, drinks, products\s etc. in that entire building, and not just in that leased space.

and then, because it is not in the public's best interests to restrain commercial activity in the form of such non-competition agreements, if the matter is litigated, the courts will often allow a competitor to lease space in the same building and sell the same thing, if it is labeled differently it all makes perfect sense.

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

That is absolutely fucking ridiculous! Sounds like they're trying to protect the shitty fast food chain from having any competition from the real thing that would taste much better.

PurpleJedi said:

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

McDonald's? Oh, you know that's some horrible tasting mexican food if McDonald's has anything to do with it. Hell, even their hamburgers are shitty.

PurpleJedi said:

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

McDonald's and Chipotle are no longer affiliated. From http://www.chipotle.com/e...facts.aspx

jone70 said:

PurpleJedi said:

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

McDonald's and Chipotle are no longer affiliated. From http://www.chipotle.com/e...facts.aspx

There is a popular misconception that Chipotle restaurants are owned by McDonalds. While they were once an investor in our company, they divested in 2006 and our company went public on the New York Stock Exchange that year. Source: Chipotle

Channeling Johnny Carson: I did not know that.

Genesia said:

jone70 said:

Channeling Johnny Carson: I did not know that.

Now the guilty feeling I get from eating there is mainly due to caloric intake, not from indirectly giving money to Micky D's!

I personally have never gone to a mexican restaurant and ordered tacos or a burrito.. To me thats sad!

Well, lemme take that back... I will eat fish tacos until I puke!!! But only in California..

So, I dont think its such a bad compromise, the new stuff the have sounds amazing!

Genesia said:

jone70 said:

McDonald's and Chipotle are no longer affiliated. From http://www.chipotle.com/e...facts.aspx

Channeling Johnny Carson: I did not know that.

Neither did I obviously!!!

There is a Chipotle near my office that I rarely go to. It's always PACKED and I find their food overpriced for something just a notch above Taco Bell.

I'd rather go to one of the legitimate Mexican/Colombian/Dominican/El Salvadoran restaurants in the area and eat genuine fare.

As for chains though...there's an On The Border restaurant across the street from Chipotle with a bar that serves Dos Equis on tap.

Needless to say, Chipotle was rarely a consideration even BEFORE the Greewich Village fiasco.

tinaz said:

I personally have never gone to a mexican restaurant and ordered tacos or a burrito.. To me thats sad!

Well, lemme take that back... I will eat fish tacos until I puke!!! But only in California..

So, I dont think its such a bad compromise, the new stuff the have sounds amazing!

If I ever go to Lincoln, I'm most definitely hitting that Mexican place with the Irish-sounding name for a Navajo Taco.

I've eaten at Chipotle a couple times and I'm not a huge fan of their food, but I love black beans that they use in their burritos.

But what I think is really cool about this company is the integrity they have with the food products that they use. It isn't your typical fast food restaurant. They use naturally raised pork, chicken and beef. They use organic products that are farmed locally. They are pushing the government to stop using antibiotics, growth promters and other crazy things that are fed to animals in order to mass produce low quality food.

I think they deserve a little more credit than just your average "fast food chain restaurant."

And I don't know what kind of products were used by Gonzalez and Gonzalez, but being from TEXAS, home of the best kind of Mexican food (that's "Tex-Mex" for you folks that don't know), most Mexican food restaurants use the cheapest, nastiest, lard-containing, from a can product to make their burritos and tacos.

....But why does it taste sooooo good???

CallMeCarrie said:

I've eaten at Chipotle a couple times and I'm not a huge fan of their food, but I love black beans that they use in their burritos.

But what I think is really cool about this company is the integrity they have with the food products that they use. It isn't your typical fast food restaurant. They use naturally raised pork, chicken and beef. They use organic products that are farmed locally. They are pushing the government to stop using antibiotics, growth promters and other crazy things that are fed to animals in order to mass produce low quality food.

I think they deserve a little more credit than just your average "fast food chain restaurant."

And I don't know what kind of products were used by Gonzalez and Gonzalez, but being from TEXAS, home of the best kind of Mexican food (that's "Tex-Mex" for you folks that don't know), most Mexican food restaurants use the cheapest, nastiest, lard-containing, from a can product to make their burritos and tacos.

....But why does it taste sooooo good???

Because fat = flavor.

And there is nothing unhealthy about lard. As long as it isn't hydrogenated, it's healthier than most vegetable oils.

[img:$uid]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g216/rebecca8273/happylard.gif[/img:$uid]

PurpleJedi said:

tinaz said:

I personally have never gone to a mexican restaurant and ordered tacos or a burrito.. To me thats sad!

Well, lemme take that back... I will eat fish tacos until I puke!!! But only in California..

So, I dont think its such a bad compromise, the new stuff the have sounds amazing!

If I ever go to Lincoln, I'm most definitely hitting that Mexican place with the Irish-sounding name for a Navajo Taco.

Carlos O' Kelly

Im goin with you!!

tinaz said:

Well, lemme take that back... I will eat fish tacos until I puke!!! But only in California..

That's hot.

If their food is good and they have loyal customers it does seem like they should be able to get by without selling those items by name. But I agree that a lot of this doesn't make sense just yet. Like, is it just by name, or product? Like, if they folded a tortilla in half, stuffed it and called it something other than a taco, could the sell it?

PurpleJedi said:

Mexican Restaurant Banned From Selling Tacos, Burritos in Chipotle Deal

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Gonzalez y Gonzalez, the popular Greenwich Village Mexican restaurant that closed last year to make way for a Chipotle, has been allowed back into part of its old space under a bizarre deal that bans it from selling tacos, burritos and other Tex-Mex staples.

Known for its massive sombrero, Mexican food and plentiful drinks, Gonzalez y Gonzalez devastated fans when it closed its doors at 625 Broadway in January 2011 to make way for the burrito chain Chipotle.

But under an agreement with the building, Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been allowed back into half of its former home — under condition that it alter its menu to get rid of any items that are also served by its fast-food neighbor, DNAinfo has learned.

"We cannot sell tacos, burritos or fajitas," said co-owner Evan Cohen, who has worked at Gonzalez y Gonzalez for more than 20 years.

"We had to be creative .... it was part of our lease that we wouldn't sell them. We worked it out."

The new menu — which rolled out as dinner only during its soft opening Thursday — focuses on "Mexico City style street food" including huraches, which are corn meal pancakes with cilantro and other toppings; $3 Mexican hot dogs wrapped in bacon; and tortas, or Mexican sandwiches.

Reps for Chipotle's corporate office did not immediately return calls for comment.

Gonzalez y Gonzalez began having trouble about two years ago when 625 Broadway went into foreclosure and its month-to-month lease was terminated, Cohen said previously.

The restaurant bid on the space in an attempt to stay, but a competing bid from Chipotle won.

After a bankruptcy court judge ruled in favor of Chipotle, Gonzalez y Gonzalez was given 30 days notice to vacate the building, and closed its doors at the end of January 2011.

Read more: HERE

I don't know about you but to me this stinks of corporate greed and manipulation.

How can a business be limited as to what they can and cannot sell?

Because that's what they agreed to.

Businesses don't get to sell whatever they want. There are limits as to what one can offer for sale.

PurpleJedi said:

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

I think it's as simple as agreeing to pay more rent. No lawyers needed for that.

I looked up Chipotle here since I've never been there but remember at one time them being all the rage, there's 3 places countywide, which I guess for me it's a surprise they have that many. Within a 4 minute drive for me I counted at least 10 taco shops, granted that's not fine restaurant dining still finding authentic mexican food isn't a difficult or rare thing here so I don't see a big market for that place. I'd love to see Chipotle pull something like that with a local restaurant here, I can see the doors closing now.

SUPRMAN said:

PurpleJedi said:

Gonzalez y Gonzalez has been around for a long, long time.

To me, seeing this sombrero is a part of being in Greenwich Village;

So from what I get...the landlord went bankrupt...they tried to get the location...Chipotle (and it's parent company, McDonalds) had better lawyers so they got it instead...but they are only using half the space...Gonzalez y Gonzalez wants the other half, but has to adjust their menu so that they don't compete with Chipotle.

Because, yeah, the world needs another Chipotle.

Sorry...this just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Next time I'm in the area I'll make SURE to patronize Gonzalez y Gonzalez, WHATEVER they're selling.

I think it's as simple as agreeing to pay more rent. No lawyers needed for that.

Oh, quit being sensible. Don't you know it's all the rage to go on a knee-jerk anti-corporate tirade?

Mexican Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Genesia said:

SUPRMAN said:

I think it's as simple as agreeing to pay more rent. No lawyers needed for that.

Oh, quit being sensible. Don't you know it's all the rage to go on a knee-jerk anti-corporate tirade?

OH NO you didn't.

kpowers said:

Mexican Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does your batsuit allow for a quick stop in the men's room should those chimichangas disagree with the batstomach?

PurpleJedi said:

kpowers said:

Mexican Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does your batsuit allow for a quick stop in the men's room should those chimichangas disagree with the batstomach?

You can kinda hold Mexican food in for a while but if he ever goes to eat Indian food, his suit better easily come off or he's not going to make it. I love the hell out of some Indian food but many a time, I've been scared I was going to get pulled over for speeding while I was racing home to the bathroom afterwards. I even had to run a red light once because it was going to come out right there in the car if I didn't.

PurpleJedi said:

kpowers said:

Mexican Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does your batsuit allow for a quick stop in the men's room should those chimichangas disagree with the batstomach?

Yes it does

vainandy said:

PurpleJedi said:

Does your batsuit allow for a quick stop in the men's room should those chimichangas disagree with the batstomach?

You can kinda hold Mexican food in for a while but if he ever goes to eat Indian food, his suit better easily come off or he's not going to make it. I love the hell out of some Indian food but many a time, I've been scared I was going to get pulled over for speeding while I was racing home to the bathroom afterwards. I even had to run a red light once because it was going to come out right there in the car if I didn't.

Them spices'll get'cha every time. I have now built up my resistance to Indian (and some African) food for a solid 3 hours after eating, then...it's ova