About two years ago, I was told that the In-N-Out Burger was the future of fast food. I just didn't see it and am now convinced I was right. They've only got 189 stores and Chipotle had 419 as of two weeks ago. The Hispanic-ization of America is upon us, and I hope we'll soon start to see more tacos al pastor or ceviche de camarones!
I've heard these stores are just extraordinarily profitable. As I spoke with the folks of a favorite DC spot, I learned that they made, on average, over 2000 burritos per day. The WrapWorks a few stores down (in a much nicer location) only does about 500 and has a much more complicated (and certainly costly) operation.
I'm not a guy who's in to franchising, but if I had the chance, I would definitely franchise a Chipotle. It's not possible to do so today, and I wonder when McDonald's is going to let us at it. By the tone they take on their web site, I'm clearly not the only interested party.
We are not currently franchising restaurants or licensing markets. We are only opening company owned and operated restaurants. Please do not send us any inquiries in this regard, since we do not have the resources to respond.This is a great story, one that I'm sure we'll continue to hear more about. There's even a great dedicated fan site for the restaurant, www.chipotlefan.com. It's got everything you'll need to know about Chipotle burritos including a nutritional calculator; which I don't recommend you use because you might never eat there again -- the food isn't that healthy for you. However, if you still remain a junkie, you can try to find your burrito soulmate on the site.
I'm in love.
