Two weeks ago I wrote a post called Chipotle just another chain. Shortly afterwards, a public relations firm representing the burrito chain e-mailed to clear up some things in the post. I still had some questions, though, so I talked to Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold.
Arnold told me that burrito sizes haven't changed and that Chipotle doesn't videotape its employees to make sure they're giving out small scoops. "That sounds a little 1984 to me as well," he said. "We certainly do try to keep everything as consistent as possible but there's going to be variability. The pouring device is a spoon so there's always the prospect for human error.... We do in fact have cameras in our stores but they are for security purposes. Not watching the size of burritos."
Besides, Arnold said, it's not overly big burritos that the company is worried about, "What impacts our food costs is cooking too much chicken at 9:45 when the restaurant closes at 10 and having to throw it out, or lettuce going bad because too much was ordered. Food inventory not the size of a couple of burritos."
Arnold then stressed Chipotle's pledge to sell food with integrity, the company's philosophy to use as many small-farm, hormone-free animals as possible. "It's a tall order but we're up to 60 percent beef, 100 percent of all hogs and chicken and about 30 percent organic on the beans... as we expand we keep the food with integrity approach two ways. One is we're constantly looking for new suppliers and we're helping old suppliers to grow."
That clears up the camera question, plus a little more. Also, here's the letter Chipotle originally sent me.
Writing from Denver on
behalf of Chipotle Mexican Grill, a company spokesman said she "wanted to offer a few resources to address
some of the concerns":
Sustainability
When you have a chance, please visit the Food With Integrity section of the Chipotle Web site.
Here you'll find details on Chipotle's various sustainability
initiatives and the "hallmarks of Food With Integrity." Here's a brief
snippet from the page:
The hallmarks of Food With Integrity
include things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable,
nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and
artisanal. And, since embracing this philosophy, it's had tremendous
impact on how we run our restaurants and our business. It's led us to
serve more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant in the
country, to push for more sustainable practices in produce farming, and
to work with dairy suppliers to eliminate the use of added hormones
from their operations.
For a quick look at Chipotle's Food With Integrity timeline, click here:
I'd
also be more than happy to coordinate an interview for you with someone
from Chipotle regarding Food With Integrity and sustainability, as well
as a line tasting at your local Chipotle, during which you can learn
more about the individual ingredients on the line and, again, more
about Chipotle's Food With Integrity philosophy that impacts all
aspects of the company's business.
Just another chain
Chipotle
is a chain, but it is a chain committed to serving the communities it
calls home, including Kansas City. In 2008, Chipotle held fundraisers
for the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture and the Deanna Rose
Farmstead, and also partnered with Shatto Dairy (a local RBGH-free
dairy) for a milk bottle exchange event, which you may recall from your
Chipotle also provides food free of cost to a variety of local
organizations and school groups in Kansas City and surrounding areas.
I
encourage you to check out the Web site links above, and please do take
me up on my offer to schedule a line tasting and/or an interview for
you with someone from Chipotle who can address all of your questions -
from menu pricing to sustainability and more. We'd welcome the
opportunity to provide you with some additional, and possibly new,
information for future stories.
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