Chipotle‘s 2016 did not get off to a great start, and the fast-casual chain is still trying to dig itself out of a PR nightmare that its normal fare of burritos and guac hasn’t been able to get done itself. Perhaps something more quintessentially American might.
Eater is reporting that Chipotle is moving ahead with plans to open a burger concept store called “Tasty Made,” with the first location coming to Lancaster, Ohio, in the fall. Rather than the Tex-Mex fare that made it famous, Chipotle’s Tasty Made branch will seek to emulate the success of other burger-based brands, like Shake Shack, Five Guys and In-N-Out.
Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, emphasized simplicity as the common denominator of these eminently popular American eateries.
“Early fast-food burger restaurants generally had focused menus,” Ells said in a statement. “We think there’s great strength in that original fast-food model and wanted to create a restaurant built around that. Making only burgers, fries and shakes with really great ingredients, we think we can appeal to people’s timeless love of burgers but in a way that is consistent with our long-term vision.”
That long-term vision might not be limited to burritos and burgers. A Chipotle spokesperson told CNBC that the company has “two non-Chipotle growth seeds open now — ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale,” and with a little luck, “the Chipotle model could be applied to a wide variety of foods.”
As long as health and safety is a more measurable part of that model going forward.
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