MACON, Mo. — A little sign on a vacant piece of northeast Missouri property is getting a lot of people’s hopes up.
Unfortunately, what it says is not true.
The sign at the corner of Jefferson and Walnut streets in Macon says, “Coming Soon: Chipotle.”
The land, owned by Dan Wilt, of Macon, was recently leveled to make way for a new gravel parking lot.
A source familiar with the situation originally told KTVO that the landowner’s son, David Wilt, put the sign there.
Wilt called KTVO’s John Garlock back Monday afternoon and said that he is not the one who put it up.
He said someone apparently put it there as a joke, but he has no idea who.
KTVO reached out the Chipotle’s corporate team to confirm that the restaurant will not be building a location in Macon.
“We do not have a planned location in Macon,” said Annie Gradinger, with Chipotle Mexican Grill external communications.
Online information indicates that Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. only locates in communities with a population of at least 25,000.
Macon’s population is just 5,456.
(Editor’s Note: Story corrected to indicate that David Wilt did not put the sign on the property. Further updated with comment from Chipotle’s corporate headquarters.)