Chipotle Mexican Grill will open between 150 and 165 restaurants next year, more than half of which will have drive-through windows, the company said in its third-quarter earnings report.
Chipotle has changed its real estate strategy to include more drive-throughs (the company dubs them Chipotlanes), which has slowed its restaurant opening rate. At present, the chain has 80 restaurants under construction, about half of them with a drive-through included. The company had announced plans to open about 140–155 restaurants this year and now confirms that the actual number will be closer to the low end of that estimate, according to the report.
About half of Chipotle's future restaurants will contain drive-up windows
Chipotle opened 25 restaurants during the third quarter, and its total now stands at 2,546. Third-quarter revenue increased by 14.6 percent, to $1.4 billion, and comparable-restaurant sales rose by 11 percent, well above the 9.3 percent expected on Wall Street.
"We're pleased with our overall results in the quarter," said CEO Brian Niccol in the report, "which reflects further progress on our key strategic initiatives to provide a great guest experience and position Chipotle to deliver above-industry growth for many years to come."
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
