NORTHAMPTON — Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its first location in Northampton on Wednesday.

The restaurant is located at 301 King St., the site of a former Papa Gino’s resturant that closed in 2017 and had been vacant since.

The 3,000-square-foot property is owned by the Colvest Group, which also owns other buildings such as the Aldi’s supermarket and Starbucks locations in the nearby Northampton Crossing Plaza.

The Northampton restaurant, which typically hires 30 people per location, said in a statement that it is hiring workers to fill remaining positions.

Due the location having already been a former food location, the building was simply be retrofit to accommodate the restaurant’s needs rather than be torn down completely.

A pioneer in the fast casual dining business and headquartered in California, Chipotle has over 3,500 locations across the United States, with 72 across Massachusetts. In addition to Northampton, the other Chipotle is off Russell Street in Hadley, which opened more than a decade ago.

Despite the name-brand recognition, Chipotle can expect some competition with fast-casual burritos, with local chain Bueno Y Sano having a location in Northampton’s downtown just a mile away and another spot on Damon Road called Hot Head Burritos.