King David’s Restaurant, a staple among the Marshall Street storefronts for more than 35 years, may hand over ownership to Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The Common Council will vote Monday to approve or deny the Colorado-based chain Chipotle a special permit to make interior and exterior modifications to 129-131 Marshall St., where King David’s is located, according to the Common Council’s Monday agenda. The special permit has already passed through the Planning Commission with no opposition.

Kathleen Joy, the councilor-at-large who will lead the discussion at Monday’s meeting, did not respond to several interview requests.

Angela and Milad Hatem are the owners of King David’s, according to the agenda. The restaurant specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine, such as falafel, stuffed grape leaves, shish kabobs and hummus.

The change in restaurants would replace Middle Eastern cuisine for the popular Mexican chain’s burritos, salsa and lime-cilantro rice.

King David’s opened its first Syracuse restaurant in 1974 on Marshall Street. The Hatem family opened another store in Fayetteville’s Towne Center in 2004 and a third restaurant in Rochester several years ago, according to King David’s website.

Milad, owner of the Marshall Street location, told The Post-Standard that Chipotle plans to lease the building from the family, but the deal has yet to be finalized, according to an article in The Post-Standard on Friday.

The Planning Commission also voted to waive the 39-parking space requirement for Chipotle, according to Monday’s Common Council agenda. King David’s also had a parking waiver, according to The Post-Standard.

Chipotle broke ground for and opened its first Syracuse restaurant this year in DeWitt on the corner of Erie Boulevard and Kings Street, near ShoppingTown Mall, according to an article published in The Daily Orange on Jan. 20.

Syracuse University students expressed excitement over the opening of the first Chipotle, according to the article.

rastrum@syr.edu

Published on November 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm