Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant concept built around burritos, bowls, tacos, salads and other Mexican‑inspired items prepared to order in front of the guest. Customers move along a service line and choose from a set of core ingredients, which keeps operations simple while allowing a high level of customization. The brand emphasizes fresh food prepared daily in each restaurant and has built a large digital business through its app, website ordering, and third‑party delivery partners.

The company was founded in 1993 by Steve Ells, who opened the first Chipotle near the University of Denver. That single restaurant proved there was demand for a limited‑menu concept that offered quick service with higher‑quality ingredients than typical fast food. The concept gained momentum in the late 1990s, helped in part by a minority investment from McDonald’s Corporation in 1998, which supported national expansion. A notable milestone came in 2006, when Chipotle completed its initial public offering, and McDonald’s exited its investment later that same year. Since then, Chipotle has continued to grow as an independent public company.

Today, Chipotle operates company‑owned restaurants primarily in the United States, with additional locations in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and select markets in the Middle East through a master franchise partnership. As of July 2024, the brand operates approximately 3,435 locations, with only a small number run by partners instead of the company itself. Chipotle remains strongly oriented toward corporate ownership and continues to favor opening and operating its own units rather than relying on traditional franchising.

Over the past five years, the business has evolved from a pure in‑restaurant service model to a more flexible platform that supports both on‑premise and off‑premise demand. Digital ordering has become a major traffic driver, supported by dedicated make lines and a large pickup and delivery business. A key development during this period has been the rapid buildout of “Chipotlane” drive‑thru pickup lanes, which allow guests to order digitally and collect food without entering the dining room. These sites have become central to the company’s new unit strategy and are especially important in suburban trade areas.

Chipotle is in a sustained expansion phase and is adding several hundred net new restaurants per year. The long‑term goal is to materially increase its North American footprint, with a heavy focus on the United States and Canada. New locations are opening both in mature markets and in growth corridors, including high‑growth Sun Belt suburbs and major Canadian metros. International growth is more measured but continues to move forward in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Middle East, where the company is gradually building scale.

For landlords, brokers and developers, Chipotle represents a national, traffic‑generating restaurant user with a strong balance sheet, predominantly corporate credit and a long runway of planned unit growth. The concept can work in a variety of real estate formats, including ground‑up pads with Chipotlanes, suburban end‑caps with parking, and select urban infill spaces where strong digital and walk‑in volumes support smaller footprints. The company’s ongoing commitment to company‑owned development, combined with its recognizable brand and consistent sales performance, keeps it active in ground‑up projects, re‑tenanting of existing restaurant boxes and high‑visibility corner and inline locations in growth markets across North America and select international cities.

Chipotle is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, and employs more than 130,000 people across its restaurant base and corporate offices. The brand continues to lean into its reputation for higher‑quality ingredients, including work on animal‑welfare initiatives and avoidance of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives in core menu items. This positioning, together with its scale and steady pipeline of new stores, has helped Chipotle secure prominent sites and remain a sought‑after tenant for new retail and mixed‑use developments.