The arrival of the first Chipotle in Bowling Green was greeted by huge lines of hungry burrito fans.

University students, who were previously only limited to the Qdoba on Main Street, were suddenly subjected to a new alternative.

Chipotle opened its doors on Aug. 29 and graced fans with free burritos all day. Assistant manager of Chipotle, Jeremy Evener, believes the “free burrito” day was a key factor in attracting customers.

“We had an extremely successful first day,” said Evener. “We had a line all the way past the Waffle House at one point.”

Unable to give specific statistics, Evener said that the Chipotle in Bowling Green is among the most successful branches of the chain in the nation.

“It’s a cool atmosphere in Bowling Green that we’ve tapped into and we’re really excited about being here,” said Evener.

In downtown Bowling Green, Qdoba has a been fixture for hungry students since Aug. 18 of last year. The restaurant became successful among University students, but now faces competition.

Alisha Leonard, the assistant general manager of the Qdoba on Main Street, has confidence in the restaurant.

“We’re not too worried about Chipotle,” said Leonard. “Our sales actually increased during Chipotle’s first week in town.”

Leonard says the reason for the increase in business was due to the fact that customers didn’t want to wait in Chipotle’s long lines.

Although the sales of Qdoba burritos have recently gone down, Leonard is confident that the restaurant will remain successful.

“We’re going to let the food do that for us,” Leonard said of competing with Chipotle.

Students are torn between the two burrito giants. University junior Brian Armelli insists that Chipotle reigns supreme.

“The quality of food at Chipotle is much better than Qdoba,” Armelli said. “Qdoba’s burritos taste soggy.”

Other students, like University junior Justin Cartor appreciate burritos in general.

“I like both restaurants a lot because they have yummy food,” said Cartor. “Now I’m hungry.”

Facebook.com, the popular social networking site for college students, hosts groups created by University students that champion either Chipotle or Qdoba.

Some of these Facebook.com groups include “BG For Chipotle!” and “Qdoba: Burrito Night Is Every Night.”

Workers of both Chipotle and Qdoba don’t seem worried about competing against one another.

“It’s not a problem at all,” Evener said. “We welcome competition and have no issues or problems with them.”

It’s still too early to tell if one of these restaurants will be more successful than the other. Until then, Bowling Green burrito fans will have to make a choice between two restaurants who sell a very similar product.