Author: Simon Roth
This short blog entry is about overstuffed burritos – and an incredible successful story in entrepreneurship.
A few of us have stumbled into this certain fast-food place called “Chipotle” (www.chipotle.com) on our last visit to the US. This – however – was not difficult at all, given that there are currently well over 1200 restaurants serving 800’000 meals per day and generating revenues of approx $2.2 billion per year.
The first Chipotle fast food place was founded in 1993 by the line cook Steve Ells with the aim to generate money to open his own fancy restaurant.
Soon his overstuffed burritos became the talk of Denver, not only because they were served according to the customers’ needs, but also due to his strict usage of food with integrity. Five years and 15 additional restaurants later, Steve Ells sent his business plans to McDonald’s whose reply was a $350 million investment.
Of course there were some discrepancies between the fast-food giant and the self-made entrepreneur, and Steve Ells was able to run his company again on his own, after taking it public and leaving McDonald’s walk away with $1.5 billion.
So, what is the recipe for Chipotle’s success (not talking about the real burrito receipt, which you can find here: http://www.makebetterfood.com/recipes/homemade-chipotle-burrito/)?
“Chipotle succeeds not because of the burritos,” says Ells, “it works because of our system: fresh, local, sustainable ingredients”. And it is a very strict system too: no franchising (no control), no limited time offers (too gimmicky), neither coffee nor dessert (too complicated).
Watch out for Steve Ell’s’ newest concept which is his take on Asian cuisine when he opened the first restaurant in Washington DC earlier this year (http://www.shophousekitchen.com).
And which cuisine do you see as next step on innovative, creative and profitable food concepts?
Thank you for sharing “Chipotle” with us! The concept is so successful as it is simple, tasty, affordable, fast AND integrital.. it does not only meet your taste of the day, it leaves you with a good feeling eating healthy and supporting the farmers and companies locally. A great “glocal” concept.. suitable for any kitchen in any country.
Why not do the same with Rösti in Switzerland, aus der Region für die Region ;o)
What a tasty blog Simon.
Thanks for sharing!
In fact Steve Ells has been ways ahead of time already in 1993 when he had the idea to produce food based on integrity. Or as we now would say using only fresh local sustainable ingredients! Fresh, plain, simple, honest! I can’t wait to try out his newest concept, the Asian cuisine. Next time in DC will give it a go! And I agree absolutely with Natanja…. It would be a fab ‘Glocal’ concept! Just imagining an Italian or Spanish version…. Bon App!
Love the concept and the restaurant – fresh, simple, tasty and fast. Refreshing to once again stumble upon an entrepreneur who had the belief in and passion for his product and the spirit and courage to go forward on his own without the back up of a fast food giant. A local and global concept – destined to succeed. Steve. We look forward to your market entry Switzerland. Sooner then later.
I had the chance to taste a burrito at Chipotle in New York. Yummy! Besides the tasty burrito, the concept of the restaurant convinced me too. Chipotle is a good example of how successful branding works. With a strictly defined framework, they are able to stand out of the crowd by making nothing else than simple burritos. But with every action they take, they underline the freshness (serving the food in front of your eyes by using fresh ingredients), the simplicity (easy order system) and the sustainability (usage of recycled materials). That is in my opinion the reason for the success. And this system does not only work in the US, but also on an international level.