 |
|
 
|
|
|
Sign up now for your FREE subscription to the interactive digital magazine.
|
|
Founder Steve Ells’ original plan called for one location
Chipotle Mexican Grill (Denver) opened its 1000th restaurant today with a new location in Flower Mound, Tex.
Founder, chairman and co-ceo Steve Ells, a classically trained chef, says his original plan was to open only one restaurant. “My plan was to use Chipotle as a cash cow to help me finance my own restaurant,” says Ells. “It was a novel idea: I’d show that food that was fast didn’t have to be a typical fast-food experience. I used great quality ingredients and cooked everything in the restaurant using classical cooking techniques. People loved it so I opened another, and another, and so on.”
The first Chipotle opened in 1993. Over the course of its 17-year history, Chipotle became the first national restaurant chain to commit to serving naturally raised meat, local and organically grown produce, and dairy (cheese and sour cream) made with milk from cows that are not treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH.
“Our focus on making great tasting food with more sustainably raised ingredients available and affordable for everyone is one of the keys to our success,” says Ells.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
