What the hell went wrong? Chipotle used to be all the rage...

A couple things:
>Price
>overexpansion
>Mediorcity
>Disease outbreaks

It was good 10 years ago, then they expanded rapidly and jacked up all the prices while the ingredient quality dropped. Pair that with some disease outbreaks, and people either found better options or just don't care enough to go back at all.

the GMO shit was the most annoying part
Anytime a restaurant goes with anti-science superstitions its a bad sign

I wouldn't even call the queso mediocre, it's straight-up awful. Reminds me of the lumpy gravy that comes with the Cracker Barrel country fried steak. Yuck. I had Moe's for the first time the other day and that's the lowest bar a chain restaurant's queso should be trying to clear, that's what Chipotle needed.
Yeah I wouldn't exactly call Chipotle overpriced until you start gunning for the guacamole, chips, Izze, etc. I used to get it every Friday, a burrito or three tacos with choice of meat and as much of the free shit as you could manage did me just fine. Though, I almost always had to get green or red salsa on the side and slather my food in it because the ingredients themselves are pretty bland.
Maybe it's a boiling frog thing and I never really caught on, but did the ingredient quality really drop besides the steak being precooked now? Does anyone in-the-know, perhaps a long-time employee know what's specifically changed? Because there's something not quite right with it these days, and it's harder to remember just how good it actually was when it first came to my area several years ago. I feel like the shells are smaller and lower quality to that they're no better than like Old El Paso or whatever off the shelf, the lettuce is distinctly more iceberg-like, and the black beans (which they seem to just pile on no matter how light you tell them to get with them) always come with a hefty helping of runny juice.

q doba couldn't make it in houston, the fattest city in USA

Competition mostly. Chipotle didn't invent fast casual but good lord did they break that market wide open. Now they gotta deal with Qdoba, Panchero's, Panera, potbelly's, baja fresh, and lord knows whatever else is out there that's a step up from Micky D's and Booger King

So what's their angle now? It's admirable that they want to put out healthy, sustainably raised, local food, but when competing with the less concerned organizations they simply become too expensive in comparison because most Americans don't give a shit. The market is saturated and people figured out that getting a burrito there is like 1000 calories so the healthy meme isn't carrying the team anymore

Once it started expanding internationally, I noticed that the quality has started to drop, but that's true with pretty much any chain. If they just downsized and brought the ingredient quality up, as well as reduce some of the ridiculous markups like charging almost $2 for a fucking spoonful of guacamole, they'd probably see their business pick up again.

>reduce some of the ridiculous markups like charging almost $2 for a fucking spoonful of guacamole, they'd probably see their business pick up again.
Disagree. They got hit right where it hurts. Their image was that of offering food that was healthier and more ethical than fast food, and their customers were those willing to pay a premium for that. Unfortunately that's exactly the kind of customer who would be permanently scared off by a couple outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

chipotle is like subway
no matter which ingredients you choose, it all tastes the same
there are a few mom and pop taquerias by my office, i can go to one and get a burrito the size of a football and it's tasty as fuck and only be out $4 or so

>there are a few mom and pop taquerias
All the mexicans in my area can't make a fucking burrito, always fucking bland as hell.

I feel like such a yuppie but I love Panera Bread and don't mind the few buck markup I pay compared to Chipotle. Hopefully the more comfortable price point can keep their quality up and they don't suffer the same fate as Chipotle. Naf Naf Grill is another up-and-coming fast casual restaurant that definitely owes its chance to Chipotle and y'all should look out for if you don't have one already.
I'm all the way over in New Jersey so I got Chipotle pretty late compared to the rest of the country, and even then the food seemed like a far cry from what it is now. I'd rather have them up the quality of ingredients as much as possible at the current price point rather than lower the prices personally, but how do you convey that to the public and recoup some good will with them? They're already nickel-and-diming by cutting low popularity, low profit menu items like strangling chorizo in the crib and getting rid of soft corn shells to reduce logistics, but it doesn't feel like the public is benefiting from that much. If anything they're just pissing of a core demographic who now has less options, I loved the chorizo and got it every other visit, it was actually what made me hyped for the queso because I wanted to pair the two but they were never on the menu at the same time for my location. GOOD queso might've been the shot in the arm they needed, but no one including other long-time customer friends has anything good to say about it.

I think what they need to do is when they get their shit together, go back to the drawing board with the queso, and maybe improve some of the ingredients, also do a marketing blitzkrieg all at once by making official all the "secret menu items" like jalapeno slices, quesaritos, nachos, etc. that they already make on request anyway. Reintroduce themselves as a new and improved Chipotle to get people curious to give them another chance.

i'm in houston, which is pretty much mexico...so i can stumble across decent mexican food pretty much anywhere

Definitely bland, don't know who thought it was healthy.

>switch to organic produce
>suddenly hit with diseases
>IT'S A CUNTSPIRACY

You people are so driven to eat manure I swear.

Small mexican shops are almost always about the same price as Chipotle

I've only ever gotten chicken burritos from Chipotle. but maybe just under a year ago I noticed the tortillas changed they became a bit stiffer and almost rubbery.

All of their marketing is based on how fucking great and natural their ingredients are.

The problem is that they only employ teenage fuckwads and stoners who can't be bothered to prepare it properly. Unless they fix that Chipotle will always be bland and mediocre. Or unbearably salty, as my local Chipotle fuck ups like to prepare it

Well we don't have a "small amount" of hispanics in my area either. I trip over hispanic owned taco places but none are good at all.

not in my neck of the woods.

show me one legitimate mexican restaurant where they have Chipotle sized burritos for $4

I didn't claim there was any conspiracy. But a lot of their marketing was about making the rest of the industry (including BigAgra) look bad while presenting themselves as the better, more noble and ethical alternative. That's gonna make some powerful enemies. That doesn't mean there was any foul play, but when bad shit happens to someone with powerful enemies you have to wonder.

houston TX. google it. most of the mom and pop shops don't have websites, though

I can get a lot more tacos at a small place than I can at chipotle for the same price. Sure I may be eating some expired rat meat but it's way cheaper

>instead of naming a restaurant he says "google it"
Like any texan this guy is full of shit.

i'm not doing your research for you. if you don't believe me, i really don't give a shit.

>he has to "research" the name of a restaurant he's been to.

Texans everyone. The air temperature is higher than the IQ's.

taqueria el rodeo on state hwy 249 in houston texas. now KYS

A chipotle burrito is way bigger than the 3 or 4 tacos you can get at a small mexican place for the same price

more like 6 or 7 tacos here, it's a lot of food

except they do not have $4 burritos on their menu

Yea, that's why you get a burrito at the small mexican place which will be way better, way cheaper, and won't derive half its volume from the sorriest rice on planet earth.

They are sell tacos for less than $1?

but they do

Except it will not be cheaper, it may be better, really hit and miss, probably will be about the same size

>the sorriest rice on planet earth.
its just like normal ass rice

chipotle shills on full blast

I'm not saying Chipotlle is great. I'd say it is about on par with a random small actual mexican place. Many of such places are better, and many are worse. I'm just pointing out how ridiculous the anti-chipotle hyperbole is

>t. flyover state
i live in Los Angeles and local Mexican food is better

but....but...but....muh chipotle....rrrrreeeeeee!!!!

there are mexicans and countless authentic mexican run restaurants in literally every state. LA is a shithole, there are some great places but the average place is significantly below Chipotle there

>WHOA IM NOT A SHILL!
>i just think you should try chipotle
what did he mean by this?

I didn't say you should try Chipotle, I don't go that often myself and go to local places way more often. But chipotle is ok

Yea, it's basically plain rice made sour by the addition of lime juice. Thanks. Now explain why any sane person with a functional palate would want this, let alone want it making up half the contents of their burrito.

What is so hard about spanish rice? Not trendy enough? I fuckin hate chipotle so god damn much.

Yeah those dirty mexican restaurants are really unreliable and expensive and sometimes they have filthy day laborers in them. I can always trust chipotle to have nice clean steamer trays full of soggy meat waiting for me no matter what. Definitely worth the extra $3 to get a few mouthfuls of that stuff padded out with enough underseasoned rice to feed an entire chinese family for a week.

#chiptole #healthiestchain #burrito #bestfastfoodrestaurant

this is false.
>be me
>visit friend in oklahoma
>she tells me about her favorite local burrito place
>ironically called “california burrito”
>order the california burrito
>take a few bites then go throw it away
>friend asks “what’s up?”
>nothing just dont like it. taste shitty
>she asks if we can leave since the only 2 workers there are staring at us
>tell them that they’re lucky I don’t ask for a refund and even show them my california ID
>go back to friends house and get head while playing skyrim
bretty good day

>Now explain why any sane person with a functional palate would want this
Why does anyone ever want rice? I don't know, but to say its some particularly shitty rice when its just normal rice makes you sound pretty silly

I like the queso. It's a ripoff that they charge extra for it

my chipotle is 7.50 plus tax

So you can get 6 or 7 tacos for $7.50 including tip plus tax from most local places by you? That seems insane

Whenever I see a headline, I think "I just know this white people's fault somehow"...

Rice is great in many different dishes. Even plain rice is okay on its own, if cooked properly. No one ever wants a bunch of one-note overly acidic rice taking up space in their burrito.

burritos are inherently filled with a bunch of filler. I'd rather have some rice than more fucking beans

Overly-acidic? Jesus christ man

>burritos are inherently filled with a bunch of filler

I pity you.

I'm not the one who decided to add the lime for no reason whatsoever.

I genuinely do not understand why you hate lime

This for sure. It's one the reasons I've never once eaten Chipotle. A burrito should have only shredded meat, beans and cheese in the interior, period. You can top with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato or your sauce of preference. Anything else diminishes the entire experience of eating a burrito and fuck that.

well thats fucking dumb

I love lime, in guacamole and salsa. Both of those are great choices for burrito filling. Lime rice is a retarded idea, and only exists to serve as a cheap filler which enables chipotle to fool people into thinking their burritos are big.

I mean if you leave full, thats not exactly fooling anyone
Sounds like you are just arbitrarily mad at chipotle and grasping at straws, lime in rice is fine

There's a reason no one else uses the idea: because it sucks. Most people also recognize that there's more to food than filling up your stomach. If all you want is to "leave full", you could get that from a feed trough.

Try a real burrito sometime, you'll like it.

>real burrito sometime
No him, but real burritos suck.
"Real" mexican food sucks unless it's adapted to European tastes.

You were talking about tricking people itno thinking the burritos are big. I pointed out if people are leaving full then the burritos are indeed big, no tricks involve
What you are talking about now is entirely beside your original point
Chipotle is fine, some local places are better, some are worse, at least you don't have to tip at chipotle

maybe using less safe, inferior crops caused it? People use GMO for a reason

All Mexican food is adapted to European tastes. That's the entire genesis of the cuisine. You think Aztecs ate carnitas or used flour tortillas? The only meat they even had was turkey; the Spanish brought everything else.

>Chipotle rice just like normal ass rice
>shilling on full blast
hoo boy

You do realize you can specify no rice in your burrito? You're a sad little child.

you decline the rice and ask for mixed meats. when you do that, they tend to give you more meat

Steak burrito
White rice
Black beans
Pico
Red hot
Lettuce
Cheese
And mix it up, please. Thanks

Chipotle in downtown Seattle has a 20+ person line from 11am to 2pm. Qdoba 2 blocks away barely has a lunch rush. Its basically the same food except Qdoba doesn't have a bunch of bad PR about people getting sick. I don't get it.

q doba came to houston, the fattest city in USA and failed. they must not be very good

>you have to wonder
>maybe using less safe, inferior

Lot of wondering and maybes in this convo. Or instead of blasting hot air at each other, google "Chipotle food safety". You'll see several different norovirus outbreaks. This has nothing to do with whether food is GMO or not. Fucking morons.

>Disagree. They got hit right where it hurts. Their image was that of offering food that was healthier and more ethical than fast food, and their customers were those willing to pay a premium for that.

And that's exactly what I stated too, once they declined in ingredient quality, other issues like foodborne illnesses tended to crop up. They sacrificed their whole business ethos in order to expand and it's what is causing the business to decline.

For chain burrito joints, Moe's is where it's at. More options than Chipotle, more salsas to choose from, and free chips and salsa with every meal. Plus they don't have the contaminated food and the asshat CEO. Same food, same price, better value, more options.

too much poo poo

The experts on health are blacks and latinos. Just look at their obesity and diabetes rates

What's wrong with tostilocos or ramen casserole?

please stay in your hellhole. you sound intolerable

same menu but somehow QDoba is always 100% more disappointing. I guess Qdoba burritos are bigger but less good ingredients plus the ingredients are always in big bunches, chipotle does a much better job at spreading the ingredients throughout the burrito

Their food got a lot worse like 4 years ago. The chicken and steak always have gristle. That and it lost meme status.

The outbreaks of foodbourne illnesses probably didn't help.

They kept getting shit in the food

Bowl:
Steak
black beans
brown rice
lettuce
tomatoes
hot sauce
corn
sour cream
guacamole

is what I usually get. Tastes great. Dunno what all the people ITT are talking about it being bland.

Thats what happens when you shun science and technology in favor of cheap marketing points

Overpriced and roundly inferior to moes, where chips, salsa, and queso are included.

>i live in Los Angeles

My condolences.

>t. Chipotle rice cucks

You pathetic fucks.

>used to be all the rage
Literally because they were advertised as all the rage.

When you make artificial buzz you get artificial success. fuck em.

>This has nothing to do with whether food is GMO or not.
You can't state that with any authority. But the timing looks a little funny.

not including tip but generally I dont have to tip

being a flyover has its benefits

Didn't they have some killer disease coming from their restaurant for a year or two?