Inside Chipolte

I recently watched the Inside Chipolte documentary.  Chipolte was first established by Steve Ells twenty years ago in 1993 and was opened to generate cash so he could afford to open a whole scale restaurant.  The first Chipolte was opened in Denver, CO and sold tacos and burritos.  The success of Chipolte pushed  his dream of opening his white table cloth restaurant aside and decided to build another Chipolte.  After the first fast food Mexican restaurant was established, sixteen more were quickly developed within five years.  Surprisingly enough they attracted the attention of McDonalds and in1998 they began investing in Chipolte and became the majority stakeholder.  Unfortunately the two fast food restaurants parted ways due to their different cultures.  Once Chipolte went public, 500 locations were developed and today the company is worth about $12 billion.  Chipolte is unlike many of the popular fast food restaurants we know today.  They order fresh whole ingredients, and everything is prepared according to classic cooking techniques, also the food is served in an interactive format so the customers can pick what they want.  The food is quickly made right in front of the eyes of the customers.  This particular fast food restaurant offers customers high quality food that is made fresh.  Chipolte is considered "fast casual" is the fastest growing category in the restaurant business boosting sales 13% in 2012.

 
I found it fascinating that Steve personally visited hog farms to see how the pigs were raised.  To his surprise he found that they were cramped and kept inside and was disgusted with this.  Since this sighing, they no longer used pigs or cows raised on industrial farms.  They now use pork raised on open fields.  Chipolte now uses more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant company in the world and the vegetables is used from locally farms around the country.  I would confidently say that this is considered a healthier choice of the many fast food restaurants that are offered in the United States.  I personally enjoy Chipolte and think that it is excellent food.  It eases my mind to know that all of the ingredients and pork that are used to make my meal is fresh.  I also find it important that Steve Ells took the initiative to educate himself on how and where pork is raised and how he can better improve the ingredients for his customers.  In the video, Steve Ells visits various Chipolte's to interview the employees and managers to see how the restaurant is running and if they enjoy working there.  I thought that this was important that he became involved in the restaurant by visiting them around the country.  From personal experience, I like when the owner of the restaurant is involved and wanting to know what is going on so that they are able to make a good name for their company.  It shows that they are passionate and that they care.  Today, Chipolte has more than 14,000 restaurants in the United States.  Not only is Chipolte selling food made from natural ingredients, they are also selling organic t-shirts and sweatshirts!