6 years ago
The move makes sense from all angles: Chipotle drives up digital sales, DoorDash builds on its white label service, and customers benefit from a more seamless ordering process.
It's a big blow for the majority of Chipotle's corporate employees who have called Denver home for decades. CEO Brian Niccol has a lot to prove as he uproots the company and takes a select number of people with him to Newport Beach.
As traffic slows down, fast casual chains have to step it up in other areas — menu innovation, easy ordering options — in order to keep bringing diners back.
The team has clearly identified what needs to be fixed at Chipotle. Now, it's a matter of rolling out those changes and making sure that customers approve.
Even if you don't like Taco Bell, you have to be impressed by its ability to target new food items and more times of the day in which to sell them. Niccol appears to be reverting to a successful playbook here.
New Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol is aggressively pushing to lead on innovation. It's injecting some welcome momentum into a company that's been lagging behind in recent years.
We wonder how ditching health-conscious, outdoorsy, active Denver will affect the brand's image, since it's leaning so heavily on ad campaigns promoting fresh, healthy ingredients.
Pre-orders, whether they be for delivery or pickup, are changing operations in incredibly significant ways. Restaurants need to figure out ways to keep the different customer experiences from conflicting with one another.
Hidden at the bottom of this story: potential good news for big chains offering or experimenting with delivery: a cold winter (and spring) doesn't seem to have affected delivery numbers.
An unfortunate situation in which it helps to be open and transparent about ingredient sourcing.
Chipotle promised more consumer options last week, and it's already delivering with a DoorDash partnership at 1,500 of its restaurants. Point of sale integration continues to be the most interesting part of these partnerships.
Chipotle's efforts at a turnaround are powered by the brains behind the chain that brought us the fourth meal and the naked egg taco. Who knows what happens next.
