Founder Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993 after studying cooking techniques in San Francisco. The original restaurant was highly successful, selling over 1,000 burritos per day when only 107 were needed to break even. By 2017, Chipotle had grown to operate more than 2,400 restaurants across the US while maintaining ownership of all locations. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Chipotle saw digital sales increase dramatically through initiatives like expanding their mobile app and drive-thru pickup lanes. They now have over 15 million loyalty program members, up from 8 million in 2019, and digital orders account for 25-30% of sales.

1. Chipotle Mexican Grill
What is the history of Chipotle?
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, California. In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco and
opened the first Chipotle restaurant in Denver, Colorado, near the University of
Denver campus with an $85,000 loan from his father.
Ells and his father calculated that the store would need to sell 107 burritos per
day in order to be profitable; however, after one month, the original restaurant
was selling over 1,000 burritos a day. Ells had originally planned to use funds from
the first Chipotle to open a fine-dining restaurant but instead focused on Chipotle
Mexican Grill when the restaurant showed the potential for further success.
By 2017, Chipotle was operating more than 2,400 restaurants. Chipotle does not
franchise its business, considering retaining ownership of all its locations central
to its ability to set the tone for employee culture, as well as to maintain its
commitment to sustainable ingredients.
Covid 19 Pandemic and how they Managed to face it:
During the Raymond James North American Equities Conference, CEO Brian Niccol
said at the onset of the pandemic the Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain didn’t
know how it would fare with dining rooms closed. Going forward, the brand plans
to build on its digital successes by experimenting with delivery prices and
accelerating the adoption of Chipotlanes, or drive-thru lanes designed for fetching
mobile orders. The brand also gave a menu innovation update tied to carne asada
and efforts to rollout an “official” quesadilla product nationwide. In terms of
absolute dollars, chain leaders said digital went from being a $500,000 business to
well over $1 million business for each restaurant.
The brand’s app is driving digital sales. Before the COVID-19 crisis, the loyalty
program had about 8 million members at the end of 2019.That number has

2. ballooned to more than 15 million. Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro, who
moderated the Sept. 17 chat, said his firm estimates that 25% to 30% of sales in
Chipotle’s second quarter flowed through the loyalty program. Niccol said much of
acceleration in members has occurred since March. Even better, many of the new
members are new users, not just dine-in guests who switched to off-premise. “It's
a really meaningful cohort,” Niccol said, adding that the rewards program could hit
20 million in the “not-too-distant future.”Chain leaders said the brand's goal is to
make sure guests get the same kind of customization Chipotle is known for when it
comes to digital orders. “We want people to feel like there is no trade-off between
being in line or online when it comes to Chipotle,” Niccol said. “Zero trade-off.”