Chipotle Mexican Grill

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.chipotle.com
Employees: 20,400
Employee growth: 8.5%

This company is spicing up the restaurant business. Chipotle Mexican Grill operates a chain of more than 880 quick-casual Mexican eateries in more than 30 states. Customers can build a 1-1/4 pound burrito from a lineup that includes chicken, steak, barbecue or free-range pork, as well as beans, rice, guacamole, and various other veggies and salsas. The company maintains that with extras its menu offers more than 65,000 choices. Chipotle also serves tacos, chips and salsa, beer, and margaritas. Many of the eateries can be found in urban retail areas; nearly all of the restaurants are company-owned.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $1,332.0M
One year growth: 22.7%
Net income: $78.2M
Income growth: 10.8%

Officers:
Chairman and Co-CEO: M. Steven (Steve) Ells
Co-CEO, Secretary, and Director: Montgomery F. (Monty) Moran
CFO: John R. (Jack) Hartung

Competitors:
Panda Restaurant Group
Qdoba Restaurants
Taco Bell

Incorporated: 1993
NAIC: 722211 Limited-Service Restaurants

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is one of the leading fast-casual Mexican restaurant chains, with approximately 400 outlets in about 20 states, mainly in the West and Midwest. Known for its fresh, gourmet, and increasingly organic ingredients, Chipotle (pronounced chi-POAT-lay) offers a fairly simple menu of burritos, fajitas, and tacos featuring pork, shredded beef, chicken, steak, and vegetarian fillings. Customer checks average about $8.50. From a single location in Denver, Colorado, in 1993, the chain is now growing at the rate of 100 new restaurants per year thanks to the deep pockets of its parent, fast-food giant McDonald's Corporation. McDonald's first invested in the company in 1998, before taking majority control the following year, and it now holds a 90 percent stake. The vast majority of Chipotle restaurants are company-owned; fewer than ten are franchised. Annual revenues per unit are an estimated $1.2 million.

Born on September 12, 1965, in Indianapolis, Steve Ells, the founder and CEO of Chipotle, developed a deep interest in cuisine, cooking, and restaurant eating at an early age. He told Nation's Restaurant News in January 1999 that in family travels across the United States and Europe he had an opportunity to taste many different foods and to develop an appreciation for fine cuisine at an unusually young age. Instead of cartoons, he was interested in watching Julia Child cooking shows. "When I was in fourth grade, I used to make eggs Benedict before I had to catch the school bus."

Ells attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he received an art history degree in 1988. He then decided to pursue his lifelong interest in fine food by attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After graduating in 1990, he worked for two years at the high-end Stars restaurant in San Francisco under famed chef Jeremiah Tower. His inspiration for creating Chipotle, however, came from his frequent off-hour visits to little taquerias in San Francisco's Mission District. There he was struck by the fat burritos prepared to order, everything bundled in a giant flour tortilla wrapped in foil. Ells's idea was to put a twist on this traditional Mexican peasant food by stuffing the tortillas with gourmet ingredients, leveraging his culinary knowledge.

After a year of planning during which he arranged an $80,000 loan and persuaded his father, a former president of the pharmaceuticals firm Syntex Corporation, to invest an additional $85,000, the then 27-year-old Ells returned to the Denver area, where he had lived during his junior/senior high years, to open the first Chipotle Mexican Grill. It was named after a smoked and dried jalapeño pepper that figured prominently among the ingredients, particularly the marinades used to flavor the meats. Located on Evans Avenue in Denver near the campus of the University of Denver, the restaurant opened in July 1993. The configuration of the restaurant made for a somewhat rough beginning. The kitchen was in the back, and customers and employees had to yell back and forth during ordering. Ells soon developed an open-kitchen design in which the food prep was brought out front, and the customers could interact directly with the staff and have more control over the food they were ordering.

The simple menu enabled customers to choose among burrito, taco, and fajita items; select a filling of steak, chicken, pork carnitas, or vegetarian; and then add various other fillings or toppings--all as they moved along a serving line. The huge burritos, weighing a pound and a quarter and wrapped in enormous 14-inch flour tortillas, held rice and beans in addition to the aforementioned fillings. All the ingredients were of high quality and fresh, and Ells put special gourmet touches on nearly everything: cilantro and lime juice in the rice; chopped serranos, more cilantro, and marinated red onions in the guacamole; romaine lettuce rather than the typical iceberg in the tacos. In an early rave review, Bill St. John, writing in the Rocky Mountain News enthused: "Nothing is plain here; everything has depth, character, nuance, layers of flavor." The main items on the menu were quite reasonably priced, initially ranging from $3.95 to $4.55. Among the drink offerings were margaritas and beer.

After working out the initial kinks, the first Chipotle became a huge hit. Ells's father got his investment back within a month or so. Over the next few years, more outlets were opened in the Denver metro area, funded by an additional $1.5 million investment by Ells's father and a $1.5 million private stock offering. The second store opened in February 1995, and then six more debuted during 1996. Ells concentrated first on siting restaurants in Denver's trendier neighborhoods before moving into the suburbs. Backing this growth initiative and adding efficiency to the overall operations was the addition of a central commissary where some of the ingredients were prepared. By this time, Chipotle was considered a pioneer in two national restaurant trends: so-called wraps and the fast-casual sector. The latter category encompassed chains that were a bit fancier than typical fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and a bit faster than casual-dining chains such as Chevys. Each Chipotle was estimated to be generating just over $1 million in annual sales at this time. Sales were divided about 50-50 between eat-in and carry-out customers. Chipotle's clientele was mainly composed of adults between the ages of 18 and 49, a contrast to most fast-food restaurants, which catered to teenagers and families.

Whereas the first Chipotle was a cramped 800 square feet in size, the subsequent units covered 1,600 to 2,800 square feet, and they employed about 17 workers each. Although the design differed from unit to unit, the architecture aimed for a hip, urban feel. The decor was spare and industrial: halogen lighting, metal tabletops, wooden benches and seats, concrete floors, and arched metal ceilings. At this time, design and construction costs totaled about $249,000 per unit. Also noteworthy during this initial period of growth was that Chipotle did little in the way of advertising or promotion, relying instead on word-of-mouth testimonials.

As six more Chipotle Mexican Grills opened in the Denver area during 1997, bringing the total to 14, Ells and other company leaders were seeking more funding to accelerate the growth rate. Venture capital firms were more interested in the high-flying tech world at the time, so a member of the Chipotle board of directors sent an unsolicited business plan to fast-food leader McDonald's Corporation. The timing was perfect. Domestic sales were flattening at the burger giant, and executives were seeking a way to jump-start growth. In February 1998, after a year of negotiations and due diligence, McDonald's made its first-ever investment in a restaurant chain it did not itself develop, buying a minority stake in Chipotle. (Later, it bought the Boston Market chain and owned the Donatos Pizza chain for a few years.) Chipotle continued to be run independently, headed by Ells as CEO, and neither its management structure nor its menu changed. Growth would continue to be generated through company-owned outlets--now with the backing of much deeper pockets--but there was the clear potential for franchising, eventually, through McDonald's system of franchisees.

Following the McDonald's infusion, Chipotle began expanding outside of Colorado, sometimes aided by McDonald's expertise in site selection. Two units were opened in Kansas City (one in Kansas and one in Missouri) in 1998, and several new markets were entered in 1999: Chicago; Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Phoenix; Dallas; and Washington, D.C. The restaurant count more than doubled in 1999, ending at 37. Revenues for the year totaled approximately $31 million, compared to $13 million for 1997. McDonald's increased its stake in Chipotle to more than 50 percent in 1999 and would later bump its ownership interest to 90 percent.

Another early benefit of the McDonald's relationship was that Chipotle could leverage McDonald's industry clout in, for example, getting a better supplier of avocados. Chipotle was also able to have supplies such as avocados shipped immediately through McDonald's massive distribution system. Such access was indispensable as Chipotle's operations spread out geographically.

Expansion accelerated in the early 2000s, with the store count reaching 100 by the end of 2000 and then 175 at year-end 2001. Among the new markets were Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. A McDonald's franchisee began operating two Chipotle units in Dayton, Ohio, but there was not yet a major move into franchising the concept. During 2001 Chipotle dropped the phrase "Mexican Grill" from the name of its restaurants (though the company name itself did not change). Officials at the chain reasoned that "Mexican Grill" had become too commonly used throughout the industry and might prove limiting, given that the menu already went well beyond typical Mexican fare. Around this same time, the company made the first significant changes to the menu since the first store opened. In addition to fine-tuning the recipe for its homemade guacamole, Chipotle switched to free-range pork for its carnitas. The supplier, Oakland, California-based Niman Ranch, raised its pigs "naturally"; Niman allowed them to roam free and did not feed them antibiotics. The result, according to Ells, was better-tasting pork. To use the higher-end and higher-priced product, Chipotle had to raise the price of its pork burritos by more than $1, to $5.50, but sales hardly suffered. Ells told Nation's Restaurant News in July 2001 that "our customers can't get enough of the new recipe. ... In fact, we are selling two-and-a-half times more carnitas than before, and sales continue to rise." Food industry research and consulting firm Technomic estimated that overall revenues at Chipotle more than doubled in 2001, reaching $145 million.

About 55 more Chipotles opened in 2002 and another 70 the following year, bringing the total to 300. As it celebrated its tenth anniversary, Chipotle ranked as one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country. The chain entered the Las Vegas, Atlanta, and New York markets, among others, in 2003, by which time Technomic estimated revenues at $321 million. Same-unit sales (that is, sales at units open more than one year) were growing at an impressive rate of 20 percent per year. Late in 2003 McDonald's announced, contrary to earlier rumors, that it would sell neither Chipotle nor Boston Market, both of which were operating in the black (it soon sold Donatos Pizza, however). Chipotle remained a major growth avenue for McDonald's.

Continuing to upgrade his food ingredients, Ells switched from yellow corn, which could contain genetically modified stock, to organic white corn, which did not have any genetically modified stock. He also began switching to organic beans, but a shortage of suppliers meant that Chipotle could get only 10 percent of the beans it needed from organic sources. In addition, he was running into similar problems finding suppliers of organic chicken. By mid-2004 Chipotle was offering naturally raised, antibiotic-free chicken from Bell & Evans in 50 restaurants in Washington, D.C., New York, and Ohio. Eight restaurants in Chicago and New York were using naturally raised beef.

Starting with 2004, Chipotle increased its growth rate to 100 new units per year, aiming to hit the 500 restaurant mark by the end of 2005. The chain expanded into the Pacific Northwest by entering the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, markets and also moved into Florida, specifically Orlando and Tampa. Chipotle also beefed up its marketing efforts by hiring its first outside advertising agency, the New York office of an irreverent British agency, Mother. Chipotle had been producing its own humorous radio, print, and billboard ads featuring a photo of a burrito wrapped in foil accompanied by brief, witty copy, such as "A complete, four-course meal in a handy tortilla carrying pouch" or "Burrito? Or body pillow?" Chipotle's marketing budget was estimated to be $10 million per year. Another development was an addition to the menu in response to the low-carb diet craze: Chipotle began offering its burritos and fajitas in a bowl, sans tortilla, and with romaine lettuce standing in for rice.

By late 2004, with the store count nearing 400, nothing appeared to be slowing Chipotle's remarkable growth. Ells had made only small changes to the still-simple menu in the 11-plus years he had been in business, and he continued to seek out new sources for organic ingredients. "It's not just about fresh anymore; fresh is sort of the minimum that you have to do in this category now," Ells told Nation's Restaurant News in October 2004. "You have to be concerned where your food comes from and how the animals were raised. I call it 'Food with Integrity.'" Backed by the cash-rich McDonald's, Ells was positioned to maintain the rapid growth of Chipotle: "I think there's a huge demand in the U.S. for the brand. And so the challenge is to improve the experience and deliver it to more and more people."

Principal Competitors

Fresh Enterprises, Inc.; Rubio's Restaurants, Inc.; Moe's Southwest Grill, LLC; Qdoba Restaurant Corporation; El Pollo Loco, Inc.

Further Reading

Alsever, Jennifer, "Quest for a New Burrito: CEO Brings Natural Foods to Fold," Denver Post, May 9, 2004, p. K1.

Bernstein, Charles, "The Right Combination: Chipotle Grows with Steve Ells' Youth and Food Fanaticism Plus McDonald's Experience and Deep Pockets," Chain Leader, May 2001, pp. 54-56, 58, 60.

Bunn, Dina, "McDonald's Takes Bite of Chipotle," Rocky Mountain News, February 10, 1998, p. 1B.

Cavanaugh, Bonnie Brewer, "Steve Ells," Nation's Restaurant News, October 4, 2004, pp. 114+.

Cebrzynski, Gregg, "Chipotle Seeks 'Fresh Thinking,' Hires First Formal Agency," Nation's Restaurant News, February 23, 2004, p. 14.

Chandler, Susan, "Burrito Chain Spices McDonald's," Chicago Tribune, August 2, 1998, p. 1.

Cohen, Deborah L., "McD's Takes Control of Mexican-Food Restaurant Chain," Crain's Chicago Business, October 11, 1999, p. 3.

Dunn, Julie, "Free-Range Burritos: Is This McDonald's?," New York Times, September 29, 2002, sec. 3, p. 6.

Elliott, Stuart, "Restaurant Chain Known for Irreverent Advertising," New York Times, January 8, 2004, p. C7.

Forgrieve, Janet, "Chipotle Serves Up a Winner," Rocky Mountain News, July 11, 2003, p. 7B.

Guy, Sandra, "McDonald's Plans Big Chipotle Boost," Chicago Sun-Times, May 24, 2002, p. 51.

Hamstra, Mark, "McD's Buys Stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill," Nation's Restaurant News, February 23, 1998, pp. 1, 6.

Hochwarth, Patricia, "The Gospel According to Chipotle," Restaurant Hospitality, April 2004, p. 58.

Landwehr, Rebecca, "Big Macs and Burritos," Denver Business Journal, February 18, 2000, p. 1A.

Parker, Penny, "Married Life Suits Chipotle: McDonald's Stake Carries Clout," Denver Post, May 23, 1999, p. K1.

------, "McDonald's Acquires Taste for Burritos: Fast-Food Giant Invests in Local Chipotle Chain," Denver Post, February 10, 1998, p. A1.

Raffio, Ralph, "Steve's Big McBreak," Restaurant Business, April 1, 1998, pp. 38-41, 44, 46.

Ruggless, Ron, "Southwestern Cuisine Keeps Palates Sizzling," Nation's Restaurant News, June 30, 1997, pp. 35-36.

------, "Steve Ells: Taking Quick Service to New Levels of Sophistication at Chipotle Mexican Grill," Nation's Restaurant News, January 1999, pp. 68, 77.

St. John, Bill, "Chipotle Mexican Grill: Just Like the Pepper, It's All Jazzed Up," Rocky Mountain News, October 22, 1993, p. 20D.

Thorn, Bret, "Steve Ells," Nation's Restaurant News, January 27, 2003, pp. 36, 40.

Yee, Laura, "Did Someone Say, Chipotle Mexican Grill?," Restaurants and Institutions, July 1, 1999, pp. 51-52.

Zuber, Amy, "Chipotle's Challenge: Create a Unique Design for Each Site," Nation's Restaurant News, November 9, 1998, p. 24.

------, "Chipotle Upgrades Menu Items, Will Drop 'Mexican Grill' Name," Nation's Restaurant News, July 30, 2001, pp. 4, 69.

------, "Donatos Shuts Units, Cuts Staff As Chipotle Heats Up," Nation's Restaurant News, December 2, 2002, pp. 1+.

------, "Regional Powerhouse Chains: Chipotle," Nation's Restaurant News, January 28, 2002, pp. 58-59.

— David E. Salamie

This article is about the Mexican restaurant. For the chili pepper, see Chipotle.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: CMG)
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Area served	33 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, and Ontario[1]
Key people	Steve Ells, Founder, co-CEO and Chairman
Industry	Restaurants
Revenue	▲$1.331 billion USD (2008)[1]
Operating income	▲$124 million USD (2008)[1]
Net income	▲$78 million USD (2008)[1]
Employees	20,400 (2008)[1]
Website	www.chipotle.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) (pronounced chih-POAT-lay^[2]) is a chain of restaurants specializing in burritos and tacos. Founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and based in Denver, Colorado, the restaurant is known for its large burritos, assembly line production,^[3] and commitment to natural ingredients.^[4] Chipotle is one of the first chains in the relatively new category of fast-casual dining establishments.^[5] In the past, McDonald's Corporation owned a majority interest in Chipotle. McDonald's has since sold their entire stake in Chipotle; full divestment was completed in October 2006.^[6]

Contents 1 History 2 Menu 2.1 Nutrition 3 Advertising/publicity 4 Controversy 5 Architecture 6 References 7 External links

History

Distribution of Chipotle restaurants throughout North America as of November 2008^[update].

Founder Steve Ells attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York; afterward, he became a line cook for Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco.^[4] There, Ells observed the popularity of the taquerias and San Francisco burritos in the Mission District. In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco^[7] and opened the first Chipotle in Denver, Colorado in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream Store near the University of Denver campus using an $85,000 loan from his father.^[6] The name derives from the Mexican Spanish name for a smoked, dried jalapeño chili, and ultimately derives from the Nahuatl language.^[8]

In 1998, McDonald's made an initial minority investment in the company. By 2001, they had grown to be Chipotle's largest investor.^[6] McDonald's investment allowed the firm to quickly expand, from 16 restaurants in 1998 to over 500 by 2005.^[9] On January 26, 2006, Chipotle made its IPO, after increasing the share price twice due to high pre-IPO demand. In its first day as a public company, the stock rose exactly 100%, resulting in the best U.S.-based IPO in six years, and the second-best IPO for a restaurant after Boston Chicken (now Boston Market). The money from the offering was then used to fund new store growth.^[10]

In October 2006, McDonald's fully divested its investment in Chipotle,^[11] part of a larger initiative to divest all of its non-core business restaurants – Chipotle, Donato's Pizza, and Boston Market – so that it could squarely focus on the main McDonald's chain.^[12]

As of September 2009^[update], 900 restaurants have since opened throughout the United States and Canada.^[13] There are plans to open restaurants in London, England in 2009 or 2010.^[14][15] All are company-owned, rather than franchised.^[16] Founder Steve Ells serves as chairman and co-CEO of the company.^[17]

Menu

The first Chipotle near the campus of the University of Denver; it is still in operation as of May 2009^[update]

Chipotle's menu consists of five items: burritos, fajita burritos, burrito bols, tacos, and salads, with a choice of chicken, pork carnitas, barbacoa, steak, or vegetarian (with guacamole). The price of the items is based on the type of meat chosen. Additional toppings include rice, beans, four types of salsa, sour cream, cheese, or lettuce.^[18][19] When asked about expanding the menu, Steve Ells said, "[I]t's important to keep the menu focused, because if you just do a few things, you can ensure that you do them better than anybody else."^[20] There are over 65,000 possible combinations of ingredients.^[21] Quesadillas are made on request, though they are not listed on the menu.^[22]

On April 1, 2009, Chipotle began testing a new menu at various restaurants in Denver. The new "low-roller" menu offers smaller portions and lower-priced items, including single tacos, side salads, and soup. A new kids menu features quesadillas. If successful, the new menu could be available at all restaurants by the end of 2009.^[23][24]

Chipotle accepts fax orders, and in 2005 the company added the ability to order online from their website. For both online and fax orders, customers proceed to the front of the line to pay for pre-ordered food.^[25] In 2009, Chipotle released an app for the iPhone that allows users to find nearby Chipotle locations, place an order, and prepay with a credit card.^[26]

Nutrition

A Center for Science in the Public Interest report stated that Chipotle's burritos contain over 1,000 calories, which is nearly equivalent to two meals' worth of food.^[27][28] MSNBC Health placed the burritos on their list of the "20 Worst Foods in America" because of their high caloric content and high sodium.^[29] However, the restaurant has also received praise – Health.com included the restaurant in its list of the "Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants".^[30]

In 2001, Chipotle released a mission statement called Food With Integrity, which highlighted Chipotle's commitment to naturally raised meat, organic produce, and dairy without added hormones. All of Chipotle's chicken and pork are naturally raised (i.e., open-range, antibiotic free, and with a vegetarian diet), as well as 65% of the beef. Approximately 30% of the beans are organically grown.^[2][31] The company pledges to use more local produce when possible,^[32][33] using "35 percent of at least one of its produce items for every restaurant sourced from small and midsize local farms throughout the growing season."^[2] Chipotle advertises its support of family farms, such as Niman Ranch, a California "natural" meat producer that contracts with farms in the Midwest to raise pork and other livestock.^[34]

Chipotle has a number of vegetarian options, including rice, black beans, fajita veggies, salsa, guacamole, and cheese, although the pinto beans contain bacon.^[35] All items other than the meats, pinto beans, cheese, sour cream, and honey vinaigrette dressing are vegan.^[36] The cheese is processed with vegetable-based rennet in order to be suitable for vegetarians, and the sour cream comes from cows that are not treated with rBGH.^[19] In October 2009, Chipotle introduced the vegan Garden Blend burrito, containing a plant-based meat alternative marinated in chipotle adobo, at its Dupont Circle restaurant in Washington, D.C.^[37] The flour tortillas used for the burritos and soft tacos contain gluten,^[38] and the red tomatillo salsa, chips, and hard taco shells could contain gluten.^[36]

Advertising/publicity

People line up outside a Chipotle in East Lansing, Michigan during a "Free Burrito Day".

Chipotle does not advertise on television; instead, the company relies mainly on billboards, radio ads, and word-of-mouth.^[11] Chipotle has run many promotions giving out free food to potential customers, especially when opening a new store. Stores also give out free burritos on certain holidays; for instance, on Halloween, some locations have promotions in which free burritos are given to people who come dressed as a burrito. Chipotle gave away free burritos to reporters during the 1997 trial of Timothy McVeigh, which took place in Chipotle's hometown of Denver, starting the trend of using free food as a promotion for the restaurant.^[39] In addition, stores offered free burritos to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.^[40] Chipotle also received attention when Ozzy Osbourne's reality show The Osbournes featured the company's burritos heavily.^[10] Chipotle was mentioned throughout the "Dead Celebrities" episode of the television series South Park.^[41]

Chipotle sponsors Team Garmin-Slipstream (formerly Team Garmin-Chipotle) of the International Cycling Union,^[42][43] and is an offical team partner of the Boston Celtics,^[44] and the Boston Bruins.^[45]

In June 2009, Chipotle sponsored free screenings of Food, Inc., a film which criticizes the corporate food industry. Founder Steve Ells stated that hopes that the film will make customers appreciate Chipotle's Food With Integrity policy.^[46]

From May until September 2009, Chipotle ran a contest on "mychipotle.com", a microsite which had a competition for the best user-created audio and video presentations about different combinations of ingredients.^[47][48]

Controversy

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers protested Chipotle, among other companies, in order to raise wages and improve working conditions for Florida tomato-pickers, beginning in 2006.^[49] The makers of Food, Inc. (along with 31 other leaders in the sustainable food industry) joined the coalition and signed a letter of protest against the company's tomato-sourcing.^[50] In September 2009, Chipotle reached an agreement to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes purchased from East Coast Growers and Packers, raising the wages for its Floridian tomato-pickers by 64%.^[51] By buying their Floridian tomatoes from East Coast Growers, Chipotle ensures that the money will go directly to the workers, instead of held in an escrow account where most wage increases from other companies are being held.^[52]

Architecture

Architecturally, all Chipotle restaurants are built using most of the same materials, although each store is unique.^[4] The interiors have been described as having an "industrial, sheet metal look."^[53] However, Chipotle has begun to build new restaurants using white ceramic tile instead of stainless steel, citing the relative ease of recycling white tile compared to steel.^[54] It costs the company approximately $900,000 to open a new restaurant.^[55]

Chipotle restaurants also display wood-and-metal sculptures of human figures, made by sculptor Bruce Gueswel, who also designed the chairs.^[4] All Chipotle locations display a picture of the original restaurant,^[56] which is near the University of Denver campus on Evans Avenue.^[4]

Chipotle's architectural design team incorporates the principles of sustainable architecture in their projects. One example is the "green" restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois. It features an on-site six kilowatt wind turbine, which generates about 10% of the restaurant's electrical needs.^[57] The Gurnee restaurant has received Platinum level LEED certification from U.S. Green Building Council.^[58] A restaurant in Tulsa uses recycled drywall, low-VOC paint, and energy-efficient appliances.^[59] A Chipotle restaurant in Austin, Texas was the first to receive a four-star rating from the city's Green Building Program.^[60] Additionally, Chipotle has made arrangements to add solar panels to 75 of its restaurants.^[61]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} ""2008 Annual Report for Chipotle Mexican Grill"". http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9OTI1fENoaWxkSUQ9LTF8VHlwZT0z&t=1. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Integrity is key to Chipotle brand". Times Union. 2009-11-05. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861802&category=LIFE. Retrieved 2009-11-05. 
3. ^ Hesser, Amanda (2005-02-27). "The Way We Eat". The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/magazine/27FOOD.html. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Parrish, Marlene (2007-05-20). "Fresh and fast: Chipotle Mexican Grill chain buys from family farms". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07140/786933-34.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
5. ^ Jennings, Lisa (2006-07-17). "Mexican fast-casual chains revamp offerings as parents mull spinoffs". Nations Restaurant News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_29_40/ai_n26701995/. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Chipotle founder had big dreams". Rocky Mountain News. December 23, 2006. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5233690,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28. 
7. ^ Biondich, Sarah (2008-02-06). "Food with Integrity". Express Milwaukee. http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-763-food-with-integrity.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
8. ^ "Chipotle". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chipotle. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
9. ^ "McDonald's plans to reduce ownership of Chipotle Mexican Grill". Allbusiness.com. 2006-04-27. http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail/4440581-1.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Forgrieve, Janet (2006-01-27). "Feeding frenzy". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/money/article/0,2777,DRMN_23908_4419634,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Burrito Buzz—And So Few Ads". BusinessWeek. 2007-03-12. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_11/b4025088.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
12. ^ "McDonald's Serves Up Another Sale". Forbes. 2008-02-22. http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/22/mcdonalds-pret-food-markets-equity-cx_ll_0222markets15.html. Retrieved 2009-10-05. 
13. ^ Debaise, Colleen (2009-09-17). "Starting Chipotle From Scratch". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125319598236119629.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18. 
14. ^ "Chipotle to expand to London late this year". Rocky Mountain News. 2009-01-06. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/06/chipotle-to-expand-to-london-late-this-year. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
15. ^ "Amerikaans grillconcept Chipotl naar Europa (in Dutch)". Misset Horeca. 2009-11-04. http://www.missethoreca.nl/1077945/restaurant/restaurant-nieuws/AmerikaansGrillconceptChipotlNaarEuropa.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
16. ^ "Chipotle chalks up successby defying fast-food gospel". St. Petersburg Times. 2007-11-24. http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/24/Business/Chipotle_chalks_up_su.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
17. ^ "Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2009 Results". Reuters. 2010-10-22. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS226593+22-Oct-2009+BW20091022. Retrieved 2009-10-26. 
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chipotle Mexican Grill

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