Chipotle Mexican Grill started and has grown to be a fast casual restaurant. Steve Ells founded Chipotle in in 1993 in Denver, Colorado with a mind set on the principles of using locally sourced produce. In 1993, Ells started selling burritos out of an old ice cream store, with the help of his father, who gave him an $85,000 loan. To make a profit, Ells had to sell 107 burritos a day. One month later Ells was selling 1,000 burritos a day. In 1995 Chipotle’s second restaurant opened using the cash flow earned from store number one. Restaurant two was previously a “House of Pies”, which made it convenient because they had a display case showing off the food. Ells loved the idea that people could see what they were eating and continued to have the same lay out for his other restaurants. Ells parents supported their son and funded the first Chipotle restaurant. It was obvious that the business needed higher funding in order to successfully grow. In 1996, Ells parents raised $1.3 million from wealthy friends and family. Ells raised an additional $1.8 million, created a business plan and board of directors …show more content…
They firmly believe that they bring something new to the table and offer unique attributes that are valued by their customers, and are being perceived as having better products than their competitors. Chipotles products are premium priced and compete with other fast casual competitors such as Panera Bread and Qdoba vs. cost leaders such as Taco Bell and McDonalds. Even though the cost of using organic ingredients is higher, Chipotle believes that customers are willing to pay a little extra for healthier food choices. Chipotle’s “Food with integrity” mission remains itself as a provider of higher quality food by using fresh gourmet and increasing organic ingredients which successfully differentiates their products from competitors and meets the consumer demand for healthier