Chipotle comes to Palatine

Don't ever expect something new or innovative to come out of or to Palatine. It sits outside the realm of changing at the first wave of societal evolution and gives no truck to easily modifying its communal thinking. Palatine wallows in the intoxicating ether of tradition, conservatism and intolerance.

In the reactive minds of fragile thinkers the deliberate sway of time is a good thing. Raising children and maintaining property values works best within a cocoon of isolation safe from the swipe of radicalism and the tumult of evolving tastes. In Palatine change comes not in unexpected or unmodulated ways; it is managed so as to not upset the unmindful public cart.

Palatine exists in a netherworld between the dark city and the unrestrained expanse of the far northwestern suburbs. If it were placed in an aural landscape, it would occupy the place between beats - the rest. As such, there is some semblance of virtue to be in this place. It provides a sense of potential that can be gained by leaving, while also providing a refuge from an unstable, unexpected world.

One implication of being in this physical and psychological place is the slow adoption of change in the commercial face of Palatine. A concomitant feature is that a great number of businesses do have a place here, but they are typically stores that belong to established chains. It is notable that one chain which was early to Palatine, Whole Foods, is not the most disruptive of its kind.

So it is no surprise that a store such as Chipotle has now come, finally to Palatine. Whatever was once cutting edge or subversive about their restaurant layout or food supply chain has been so thoroughly enmeshed in our collective minds it's presence is about as disturbing as the imposition of a longer left turn arrow at a heavily traveled intersection.

We can sleep easily, knowing that we feel protected not only by the corporate sensibility that restrains the impish desires of the food chain, but by the constraints embodied in the Palatine planning process. Live large in your bounded community; be ecstatic about your new choice in meals and by all means, be thankful for the whole, well planned and considered, burrito.