Chipotle Mexican Grill

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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: CMG)
Founded	Denver (1993)
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado, 80202
Area served	33 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, and Ontario[1]
Key people	Steve Ells, Founder, 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) is a chain of restaurants specializing in San Francisco burritos^[2] and tacos. Founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and based in Denver, Colorado, the restaurant is known for its chunky guacamole, large burritos, and assembly line production.^[2] Chipotle is one of the first chains in the relatively new category of fast-casual dining establishments.^[3] 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.^[4]

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

[edit] History

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.^[5] There, Ells observed the popularity of the taquerias in the Mission District. In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco^[6] 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.^[4] The name derives from the Mexican Spanish name for a smoked, dried jalapeño chili, and ultimately derives from the Nahuatl language.^[7]

In 1998, McDonald's made an initial minority investment in the company. By 2001, they had grown to be Chipotle's largest investor.^[4] McDonald's investment allowed the firm to quickly expand, from 16 restaurants in 1998 to over 500 by 2005.^[8] 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.^[9]

In October 2006, McDonald's fully divested its investment in Chipotle,^[10] 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.^[11]

As of March 2009^[update], 830 restaurants have since opened throughout the United States and Canada.^[12] All are company-owned, rather than franchised.^[13] Founder Steve Ells still serves as chairman and CEO of the company.^[14]

[edit] Menu

Chipotle's menu consists of five types of items:

• Burrito (filled with rice and either black beans or pinto beans)
• Fajita burrito (a burrito with onions and green peppers sauteed in soy oil, instead of or in addition to beans)
• Burrito Bol (burrito ingredients, without the tortilla, served in a paper bowl)
• Crispy or soft tacos (no rice or beans unless asked for)
• Salad (served with a container of chipotle-honey vinaigrette)

The above items come filled with one of the following items:

• Chicken thighs marinated in chipotle adobo and grilled
• Carnitas (shredded pork) seasoned with thyme, bay leaves, juniper berries, and cracked pepper; seared and then braised
• Barbacoa (shredded beef) seared and then braised in chipotle adobo with cumin, garlic, and other spices
• Steak marinated in a spicy chipotle pepper adobo and then grilled; lean and medium-rare
• Vegetarian (guacamole and fajita vegetables)

Any of the following can be added:

• Cilantro-lime rice
• Black beans
• Pinto beans (contains pork)
• Fajita vegetables (green bell pepper and red onion)
• Fresh tomato salsa (mild)
• Tomatillo red-chili salsa (hot)
• Tomatillo green-chili salsa (medium hot)
• Roasted chili-corn salsa (medium)
• Sour cream
• Cheese
• Guacamole
• Romaine lettuce

Side items include:

• Lime salted chips^[15]

On April 1, 2009, Chipotle released a new menu that is currently being tested at various restaurants in Denver. The new 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.^[16][17]

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.^[18]

[edit] 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.^[19][20] MSNBC Health placed the burritos on their list of the "20 Worst Foods in America" because of their high caloric content and high sodium.^[21] However, the restaurant has also received praise – Health.com included the restaurant in its list of the "Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants".^[22]

According to the Chipotle website, only the flour tortillas used for the burritos and soft tacos contain gluten.^[23]

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 50% of the beef. Also, approximately 30% of the beans are organically grown.^[24] The company pledges to uses more local produce when possible.^[24][25] 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.^[26] Furthmore, the rice, black beans, fajita veggies, salsas, guacamole, and cheese are vegetarian. All items other than the meats, pinto beans, cheese, sour cream, and honey vinaigrette dressing are vegan. 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.^[15]

[edit] Advertising

Chipotle does not advertise on television; instead, they rely mainly on billboards, radio ads, and word-of-mouth.^[10] Also, Chipotle has also 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.^[27] Also, stores offered free burritos to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.^[28] Chipotle also received attention when Ozzy Osbourne's reality show The Osbournes featured the company's burritos heavily.^[9]

Chipotle sponsors Team Garmin-Slipstream^[29] (formerly Team Garmin-Chipotle)^[30] of the International Cycling Union.^[29]

In response to 2008's Food, Inc., a documentary that criticizes the corporate food industry the became popular in the summer of 2009, Chipotle announced free screenings of the movie in various locations throughout the United States. ^[31] The company's reasoning behind the move was that current and potential customers could see what goes on at other fast-food chains and gain an appreciation for Chipotle, which states in its promotions for the showings that it doesn't do those things. ^[31]

[edit] Incidents

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been protesting Chipotle, among other companies, in order to raise wages for Florida tomato pickers.^[32]

[edit] Architecture

Architecturally, all Chipotle restaurants are built using most of the same materials, although each store is unique.^[5] The interiors have been described as having an "industrial, sheet metal look."^[33] 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.^[34]

Chipotle restaurants also display wood-and-metal sculptures of human figures, made by sculptor Bruce Gueswel, who also designed the chairs.^[5] All Chipotle locations display a picture of the original restaurant,^[35] which is near the University of Denver campus on Evans Avenue.^[5]

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 percent of the restaurant's electrical needs.^[36] A restaurant in Tulsa uses recycled drywall, low-VOC paint, and energy-efficient appliances.^[37] Also, a Chipotle restaurant in Austin, Texas was the first to receive a four-star rating from the city's Green Building Program.^[38]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chipotle Mexican Grill

• Official site

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