And their food is mostly rice and beans.
The food poisoning probably didnt’ help
I love Chipotle. Maybe it’s just the locations near me, but the quality is good and prices are not as high as some others in the thread say; certainly not $20. Maybe $11 or $12, and for a really big meal.
Unfortunately I stopped eating there when I stopped shopping at Target, when they got rid of their DEI policies in clear capitulation to MAGA. Plenty of places with comparable quality & price that at least try not to do hiring discrimination
I remember when Chipotle was still a Colorado-only thing. Better than Subway or Quiznos and the price was right. You could get in, get lunch, and get out relatively quickly.
I don’t know that things went pear-shaped the very instant they started their massive expansion everywhere, but it’s been different for quite a long time. Like a lot of brands, I’m sure they sputtered along on their reputation mostly and the place made money even if consumers started to get disillusioned.
Used to be that Qdoba and Chipotle seemed to be pretty decent options, but I’m always kind of disappointed in both these days. Qdoba offered Impossible Meat as an option for a while, but seemingly no longer does…
When was Qdoba ever a decent option? Their best has always been “disappointing” for me.
I am not being snarky, I just don’t ever remember them being good.
As for Chipotle, I don’t go there very often but even the last time I was in and saw chicken going on the grill and they said fresh avocados are used every morning to make the guacamole, that was how I remembered them. And how I always figured the differentiation was: Chipotle made their food, but Qdoba was just put together Sisco truck food.
I think it’s just a classic case of profit maximization. Chipotle felt pressure from shareholders to continue increasing profit every quarter, and that inherently involves cutting costs and increasing prices
They could try not making as much per customer to increase the number of customers. This though would mean they were not gouging enough money per sale. A loop for which they can not get past.
Chipotle is on it’s way out. When they first opened, at least by my work, the food was fresh and decent and could be had for a little more than fast food but not by a lot so it was easy to go there. I wouldn’t say it’s Mexican or TexMex but it wasn’t bad. Changed jobs and hadn’t been there in a while but I was on a road trip and thought what they heck, there aren’t too many options and this seemed like it would be good. The food was not fresh the meat was over cooked, you didn’t get a lot of food and it was kind of over priced… I haven’t been back since.
If I want cheap food, Chipotle is out. If I want good food Chipotle is out. Maybe if I hate myself and want to spend a lot of money for shitty food?
I think people are also just waking up to the idea that they’re moving to beans and rice just to survive anyway, so why go out for the same shit with lime juice squirted on it?
It’s funny how companies just don’t get it.
Fast food has been historically cheap. Chipotle worked because it was fast, it was cheap, and you didn’t feel like you were as much of a fat ass compared to grabbing a giant bacon burger and a bucket of fries.
Now you go to chipotle and pay $20 for a burrito and a soda. Still fast, still decent enough (at least the one near me), but $20 is highway robbery.
OR, I can go across the street to a sit down restaurant, have a first generation Thai guy (who started his American dream restaurant) whip up the best damn drunken noodles I’ve ever had for $12. AND he does this FASTER than chipotle (seriously how does he do it? Must be a magic wok).
Guess where we grab lunch these days.
We pre-cook as much as we can in Asian restaurants. The wok isn’t magic, the chicken/beef/pork is already 75% cooked.
Now you go to chipotle and pay $20 for a burrito and a soda. Still fast, still decent enough (at least the one near me), but $20 is highway robbery.
Chipotle Burrito and a small fountain soda is $14 in my area. Its certainly risen in price over the last 6 years.
Sometimes I’m just out with coworkers but not starving. I used to get a cheese and chicken quesadilla. It used to cost $4 and change. Then they started charging burrito prices - $15 and change for a tortilla, a handful of shredded cheese and 1/4 of a chicken breast. I get there is regional pricing differences - but their costs (at least here) are out of control.
My issue with chipotle has always been that the food is lukewarm.
I’m not paying 20 dollars for a lukewarm, lightly seasoned burrito.
Nah, the food just really sucks. Used to be good, isn’t anymore. It’s not that they can’t afford it, it’s that if you’re going out for cheap food once in a while, Chipotle is somehow worse than what you can make at home, for more money.
I remember when Reddit was flooded with posts about how great Chipotle was. Felt a little manufactured; their food was fine, but nothing better than I can get from a halfway decent local place.
Before McDonald’s got their grubby mitts on them, I loved Chipotle. I know they’re out from under that thumb now, but the damage is done, and they’re not coming back.
Maybe robots and AI can buy your food. 😐
Fuck all this capitalist bullshit. Bring about a basic income for all. No one should have to be forced into violence just to feed themselves or their family. A whole shitload of social problems would disappear if basic income were enacted.
Their food has gone downhill and also they changed the chips recently which now suck. That’s the only reason I still went, the chips. Rip.
The closest Chipotle to me is 45 minutes away and has a < 3 star rating - i think I’ll go literally anywhere else and be content.
I just go to Cava instead these days. Way better
CAVA is doing the exact same business strategy as Chipotle. They’re working on rapid expansion, but once they either reach market saturation, or stall out, they’ll reduce quality and increase prices
It’s the model for every fast-casual chain. I really wish people would support local restaurants more. You get better food at a cheaper price when you don’t have corporate taking a 30% profit margin
This is the way. I buy a CAVA bowl once a week. The way I have it made will feed me three times. That’s three dinners for less than $14.
Lol same. I get a Cava bowl and will pick at it for like two days straight.
I’m just waiting for the time I go in and find out that they’ve all been told to make the bowls smaller to save money. Only a matter of time.
Cava is so expensive though, I think it’s like $4-5 more than a burrito bowl by me.
Yeah but I get like 3 meals out of it so it’s worth it to me
I could get two out of cava, but I can also get two meals out of Chipotle so a bit of a wash from my perspective.
I never understood why chipotle was so popular. And then continued to be after their… What? Half dozen incidents of them spreading diseases around the country…
The food is actually good. The disease issue was lack of local food inspections. My problem with them is you get 25% less if you order online versus in person, so I stopped.
The food is… fine, but overpriced. When it wasn’t diseased, at least.
Thru were doing things unsafely. You can put the blame on the people doing the unsafe things and not that no one has caught them on it.
The people on the east coast have no idea what burritos are supposed to be. If they knew, Chipotle wouldn’t have gotten as far as it has.
Chipotle started in Colorado, based on the founder’s visits to restaurants in San Francisco. It’s now headquartered in California
What does Chipotle have to do with the East coast?
Also people in this thread…
As opposed to young people with jobs who can afford their food…?
