Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (/tʃɨˈpoʊtleɪ/)[7] is a chain of restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom,[8] Canada,[9][10] Germany,[11] and France,[12] specializing in burritos and tacos. Its name derives from chipotle, the Nahuatl name for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper.[13]
The company has released a mission statement called Food with Integrity, which highlights its efforts in using organic ingredients,[7] and serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain.[14] Chipotle is one of the first chains of fast casual dining establishments.[15]
Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle had 16 restaurants (all in Colorado) when McDonald's Corporation became a major investor in 1998. By the time McDonald's fully divested itself from Chipotle in 2006,[16] the chain had grown to over 500 locations.
With more than 1700 locations, Chipotle had a net income in 2013 of US$327.4 million and a staff of more than 45,000 employees.[2][3][4]