Sunday, April 1, 2012

Food with Integrity


Have you ever walked into a Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. around noon? You may see a scene similar to this one.  Chipotle filled with hungry workers and college students on their lunch break.

Steve Ells founded the company in 1993 as a small Mexican grill in Denver, Colorado. After working in Stars restaurant in San Francisco, he decided to try out his own food visions. In 17 years, Chipotle has not only expanded to over 1,000 restaurants, but also has strived to make good tasting food that comes from responsibly raised livestock and grown produce.  Ells has made it one of his goals to change the way American food is grown and raised.

To have good tasting food, it needs to come from people who care about their product. The entire concept behind the Chipotle brand is to have good tasting food that is affordable and time convenient. Ells states to achieve these goals “[he] meet with ranchers and farmers dedicated to raising livestock and growing produce using responsible, respectful, and sustainable techniques.” Ells has become a large influencer on working with local farmers to produce better food.

This concept has flourished into our local area influencing “gastropubs” in the Winter Park and Downtown Orlando. They too only use the finest ingredients that are grown and raised responsibly in the local area. You can even see the similarities in design between these restaurants and Chipotle.  The Ravenous Pig. The Rusty Spoon. 

Steve Ells’ calls it “food with integrity” which is what was the foundation of the success of Chipotle. Chipotle serves more naturally raised meats than any other company and pushes for more improvements in the food industry. Ells speaks of the importance of leadership and keeping the integrity of your brand as two good ways to make a business plan into a successful business. Ells was appointed Chairman in 2005 and is the Co-Chief Officer. He is also the largest share-holder of the company.

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