Newport Beach, Calif. — Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its 1,000th Chipotlane restaurant on Nov. 21. Located in the Kansas City metro area, in Olathe, Kan., the milestone restaurant features the company’s signature digital order drive-thru pickup lane. Of the company’s more than 3,600 restaurants in its real estate portfolio, nearly 30% feature a Chipotlane.
“Chipotlanes are a critical piece of our long term growth goal of reaching 7,000 restaurants in North America,” says Chris Brandt, chief brand officer. “This restaurant format is the fastest way for fans to get Chipotle and has proven to increase sales, margins and returns.”
Chipotle first introduced the Chipotlane format in the U.S. in early 2018, giving guests and delivery drivers the ability to pick up their Chipotle orders without leaving their cars. New restaurant openings that feature the digital order pickup lane have demonstrated higher volumes and greater returns than a traditional Chipotle restaurant format. On average, it takes guests less than 30 seconds to complete the Chipotlane process.
Chipotle is building a real estate pipeline that will allow it to accelerate new unit growth to be in the range of 8% to 10% per year, with the majority of new restaurants featuring a Chipotlane. The company is on track to open between 285 to 315 new restaurants this year, which marks record growth for the business. In 2025, Chipotle anticipates opening between 315 to 345 new restaurants with at least 80% including a Chipotlane.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. operates over 3,600 restaurants as of Sept. 30, 2024, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Kuwait; it is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.Chipotle.com.
SOURCE: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.