Chipotle ‘Hasn’t Even Scratched the Surface’ on U.S. Store Growth

Chipotle just celebrated its 2,500th store opening in Concord, Calif., on Friday, but it's far from reaching its full potential in U.S. store count, according to the company. "We continue to hear that the number one reason that consumers eat elsewhere is because they don't have convenient access to Chipotle," CEO Brian Niccol said on the company's recent fourth quarter earnings call. Chipotle opened 137 new restaurants in 2018, and plans to open 140 to 155 more new locations in 2019. [caption id="attachment_6052" align="alignleft" width="400"] Chipotle's 2,500th store location opened in Concord, California on February 8.[/caption] That's a slower, more measured opening rate compared to previous years; in 2017, Chipotle opened 183 new stores and in 2016, the company opened 243 new location