Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle’s predecessor, World Foods, Inc., was founded in Colorado in 1993, and the first Chipotle restaurant opened in Denver the same year. Founder Steve Ells started the restaurant with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience.⁠[1][2][3]

In February 1998, McDonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’s is a publicly traded restaurant company headquartered in Chicago, known for hamburgers, fries, drive-thrus and its franchise network. Its origins lie in the restaurant opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940; Ray Kroc expanded franchising from 1955. It operates across more than 100 countries, with the great majority of restaurants run by independent operators.Open the full entry Corporation made an equity investment in the company and became its majority shareholder; at the same time, World Foods merged with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., a newly formed Delaware corporation.⁠[1]

In January 2006, Chipotle completed the initial public offering of its class A common stock: the Form S-1 registration statement was declared effective on January 25 and the offering was completed on January 30. The company sold 6,060,606 shares at $22 per share for net proceeds of $120.9 million, with Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is an American global financial services firm that grew from an investment banking partnership into a publicly traded financial group spanning investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and investment management.Open the full entry and SG Cowen as managing underwriters. McDonald’s sold part of its stake in the offering.⁠[1][1][1]

McDonald’s sold a further portion of its stake in a secondary offering of class A shares in May 2006 and disposed of its remaining interest in October of that year through an exchange offer to McDonald’s shareholders. On October 12, 2006, McDonald’s announced the final results of the exchange offer: it distributed 16,539,967 shares of Chipotle class B common stock (about 82.2% of the voting interests and 50.8% of the economic interests as of June 30, 2006) and accepted 18,628,187 shares of McDonald’s common stock in exchange, after which it no longer held any voting or economic interest in Chipotle. Chipotle thereby had two publicly traded classes of common stock, class A and class B.⁠[1][4][4][1]

As of December 31, 2006, Chipotle and its franchisees operated 581 restaurants; total revenue was $822.9 million in 2006, compared with $627.7 million in 2005.⁠[1][1]

To test whether its model could work with other cuisines, Chipotle opened ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants beginning in 2011, opened the Tasty Made burger restaurant in Lancaster, Ohio, in 2016, and held a majority interest in the fast-casual pizza brand Pizzeria Locale. All ShopHouse locations were closed in early 2017; in 2018, Chipotle closed or relocated 45 Chipotle restaurants and five Pizzeria Locales.⁠[3][3][3][5]

In late October and early November 2015, illnesses caused by E. coli bacteria were connected to a number of Chipotle restaurants, initially in Washington and Oregon and subsequently at small numbers of restaurants in as many as 12 other states; during the week of December 7, 2015, an unrelated norovirus incident occurred at a restaurant in Brighton, Massachusetts. As a result, comparable restaurant sales fell 14.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015, including a 30% decline in December. On February 1, 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it had closed its investigation into the E. coli incidents.⁠[6][6][6][6]

In December 2015, Chipotle received a subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in connection with a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, requiring documents related to an August 2015 norovirus incident at a restaurant in Simi Valley, California; on January 28, 2016, a new subpoena broadened the investigation to company-wide food safety matters dating back to January 1, 2013.⁠[6][6][6]

On January 8, 2016, Susie Ong filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of investors who bought Chipotle shares between February 4, 2015, and January 5, 2016, alleging that the company, its two co-chief executive officers, and its chief financial officer failed to disclose material information about quality controls and food safety safeguards.⁠[6][3]

As of December 31, 2015, Chipotle operated 1,971 Chipotle restaurants in the United States, plus 11 in Canada, seven in England, four in France, and one in Germany; together with 13 ShopHouse and three Pizzeria Locale restaurants, the total was 2,010.⁠[6][6]

In 2016, Chipotle’s revenue fell 13.3%, from $4.5012 billion in 2015 to $3.9044 billion, and net income dropped from $475.6 million to $22.9 million. In December of that year, the company reached an agreement with Pershing Square Capital ManagementPershing Square Capital ManagementPershing Square Capital Management is an American investment management firm founded by Bill Ackman and headquartered in New York. It pursues an active investment strategy of concentrated, long-term holdings with engagement in the governance of portfolio companies, and mainly manages permanent capital funds such as the London-listed Pershing Square Holdings. In April 2026, its parent company, Pershing Square Inc., went public on the New York Stock Exchange.Open the full entry under which Ali Namvar and Matthew Paull were appointed directors.⁠[3][3][7]

In May 2017, Scott Boatwright joined Chipotle as chief restaurant officer, overseeing operations for all North American restaurants. In December, the company announced a search for a new chief executive officer, with Steve Ells to become executive chairman once a successor was appointed. Revenue rebounded 14.7% to $4.4764 billion in 2017, and at year-end the company operated 2,363 Chipotle restaurants in the United States and 37 abroad.⁠[3][3][3][3][3]

On February 13, 2018, Chipotle announced the appointment of Brian NiccolBrian NiccolBrian Niccol is an American restaurant executive who has been chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks since September 2024. He previously served as chief executive officer of Taco Bell, a Yum! Brands division, and led Chipotle Mexican Grill from 2018 to 2024.Open the full entry, then chief executive officer of Yum! BrandsYum! BrandsYum! Brands is a restaurant franchising group headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker YUM). Its brands are KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill, and as of September 2026 it operated or franchised more than 44,000 restaurants in 151 countries and territories; it and Yum China Holdings, which runs these brands in mainland China, are two separate publicly traded companies.Open the full entry’ Taco BellTaco BellTaco Bell is a Mexican-inspired quick-service restaurant brand within Yum! Brands, founded by Glen Bell in Downey, California, in 1962 and headquartered in Irvine. It serves tacos, burritos and other customizable food through franchised and company-owned restaurants. Sean Tresvant has served as division CEO since 2024.Open the full entry division, as chief executive officer and a director, effective March 5, 2018; Steve Ells became executive chairman. Niccol said he would pair delicious food with consistently great customer experiences and dial up the brand’s cultural relevance through innovation in menu and digital communications.⁠[8][8][8][8]

In 2018, Chipotle opened a new headquarters in Newport Beach, California, consolidated certain administrative functions into its existing office in Columbus, Ohio, closed its New York office, and began closing its previous headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The company recorded $42.6 million in corporate restructuring costs in the second through fourth quarters of 2018, plus about $35.8 million in exit costs for closed or relocated restaurants.⁠[5][5][5][5]

Chipotle’s menu centers on burritos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla), quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company emphasizes responsibly sourced, classically cooked food without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, with “Food with Integrity” as its core commitment; in company-owned restaurants it strives to serve only animal products raised to its own standards and without non-therapeutic antibiotics or added growth hormones, and it brands its meats as “Responsibly Raised.”⁠[2][2][2][2]

All Chipotle restaurants in the United States, Canada, and Europe are company-owned; international partner-operated restaurants are those run by third parties under license or franchise agreements or in which Chipotle holds only a minority, non-controlling interest. The company manages its U.S. operations through 11 regions, has a single reportable segment, and derives its revenue from restaurant sales. Guests can order through the app and other channels and pick up orders at drive-through lanes called Chipotlanes.⁠[9][2][2][2]

Chipotle Mexican Grill: Official website: https://www.chipotle.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

X: Public account: https://x.com/chipotletweets (opens in a new window)⁠[10]