--- title: "Chipotle Looks to Brisket and Better Operations to Sustain Sales Growth" url: https://burnaze.com/article/64308527-5f37-4bc0-b7d8-3fcbe4256717 source: "QSR Magazine" original_url: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/chipotle-looks-to-brisket-and-better-operations-to-sustain-sales-growth/ author: "Ben Coley" category: "Mexican" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Mexican" topics: ["Operations"] published: 2026-10-29T12:56:32.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:15:34.713Z image: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Chipotlesign.jpg --- # Chipotle Looks to Brisket and Better Operations to Sustain Sales Growth **TL;DR:** Chipotle's third-quarter revenue increased 9.6 percent to $3.3 billion, with same-store sales rising 2.1 percent and transactions climbing 0.8 percent. The company expects fourth-quarter same-store sales growth of approximately 2 percent, driven by the return of Smoked Brisket and additional marketing. *By Ben Coley, originally published in QSR Magazine on 2026-10-29. [Read the original](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/chipotle-looks-to-brisket-and-better-operations-to-sustain-sales-growth/).* ## Key facts - Chipotle's third-quarter revenue increased 9.6 percent to $3.3 billion - Same-store sales rose 2.1 percent - Digital sales reached $1.3 billion, accounting for 38.8 percent of revenue ## Story Chipotle is growing sales and transactions again, but its recovery is moving through an uneven consumer environment that is testing how quickly new products, kitchen investments, and marketing can build momentum. The fast casual’s third-quarter revenue increased 9.6 percent to $3.3 billion, with same-store sales rising 2.1 percent and transactions climbing 0.8 percent. September comps reached 3.8 percent with little promotional activity, giving the company confidence its initiatives were connecting with customers. Then October softened. ## Sales growth momentum CEO Scott Boatwright said transactions have since returned to positive territory. Chipotle expects fourth-quarter same-store sales growth of approximately 2 percent, with the return of Smoked Brisket and additional marketing helping the chain finish the year at a 3–4 percent growth rate. Boatwright argued that several initiatives still need time to reach their full potential. “Can we get better? I am absolutely positive we can get better,” Boatwright said. ## Operational improvements One of Chipotle’s most tangible investments is its high-efficiency equipment package, now installed in more than 1,700 restaurants. The company expects to reach approximately 2,000 by year-end and complete, or nearly complete, the rollout by the end of 2027. Restaurants with the equipment are delivering same-store sales improvements of several hundred basis points and serving more than two additional entrees during their busiest 15-minute period. Guest satisfaction and food taste scores are also improving. The equipment simplifies morning preparation and grill operations, helping restaurants keep food available and deploy employees more effectively. Chipotle is putting the resulting labor efficiencies back into restaurants to support service and hospitality. CFO Adam Rymer said only roughly half of the equipped restaurants have had the package long enough to realize the sales benefit. Teams need time to learn the equipment, and customers need time to notice the improvements. He expects the contribution to build through 2027 and 2028. Chipotle also sees room to improve execution without waiting for new equipment. Fewer than half of its restaurants consistently carry out all four of the company’s throughput fundamentals. The chain is renewing training during the fourth quarter to prepare for the seasonal sales ramp in 2027. Technology investments are advancing alongside that work. An AI tool that forecasts demand and recommends how much food restaurants should prepare has expanded to more than 500 locations. A national rollout is planned for early next year. Chipotle expects the system to reduce manual data entry and waste, helping teams prepare the right quantities at the right time. Its proprietary digital makeline interface, Chipotle Kitchen, should reach several hundred restaurants by year-end before expanding across the system throughout 2027. The technology targets order accuracy, fulfillment speed, and easier integration of new menu items. Digital sales reached $1.3 billion in the third quarter, accounting for 38.8 percent of revenue, up from 36.7 percent a year earlier. Order-ahead was the strongest-growing digital channel. The April revamp of Chipotle Rewards is contributing to that performance. Active membership exceeded 24 million during the quarter, and loyalty’s share of sales surpassed 33 percent, a company record. The next opportunity is making participation easier. Approximately 30 percent of in-store customers use Apple Pay, and Chipotle is testing technology that automatically awards points when they pay, removing the separate rewards scan. An enterprise rollout is planned for 2027. ## Menu innovation plans Menu innovation is providing another reason to return. Chipotle launched a revised Pollo Asado recipe and its first Chili Lime Chips on August 31. Pollo Asado’s attachment rate reached the low-20-percent range, significantly exceeding its previous launch. The chips increased overall chip purchase incidence. Smoked Brisket returns next week with a revised recipe, giving Chipotle another transaction driver during the final two months of the year. The chain is planning roughly four protein limited-time offers in 2027, along with additional work on beverages. Boatwright said the protein launches typically involve changing the sauce on an existing protein, limiting operational complexity. “Price isn’t the only way they look at value,” he said. “[Guests] look at innovation. Menu innovation is a really meaningful point in the overall value equation.” Those efforts carry a cost. Restaurant-level margin declined 120 basis points to 23.3 percent in the third quarter, and adjusted diluted earnings per share fell 7 percent to $0.27. Marketing expenses increased approximately 40 basis points to the mid-3-percent range as Chipotle used promotions to reconnect with customers after demand slowed in mid-July. Spending is expected to reach the high-3-percent range in the fourth quarter to support brisket. Fourth-quarter restaurant margin is projected to land just under 22 percent, approximately 150 basis points below last year. The comparison includes a prior-year gift card breakage benefit. Pricing contributed approximately 2.7 percent in the third quarter and should reach roughly 3 percent in the fourth. Rymer expects low- to mid-single-digit inflation in 2027. With pricing covering inflation, the company needs approximately 1 percent transaction growth to offset the impact of new restaurant openings before additional traffic can expand margins. ## Future growth initiatives Chipotle is also preparing to build a larger catering business, with a national rollout beginning in Q1 2027. Catering and Family Meals currently account for approximately 3 percent of sales. A recent Family Meals campaign lifted sales of the offering more than 30 percent. The challenge is accommodating larger orders without compromising the lunch and dinner business. Chipotle has been testing tools that distribute demand across restaurants and plans to add capabilities as the offering scales. Development will continue alongside those investments. Chipotle opened 84 company-owned restaurants and five partner-operated locations during the quarter. It expects approximately 350 openings this year, followed by 340–360 company-owned restaurants and 15–25 partner-operated restaurants in 2027. Chipotle finished Q3 with 4,267 restaurants systemwide. The catering opportunity gives Chipotle another source of growth within that expanding footprint, though Boatwright made clear the company will measure progress over several years. “What we’d like to do is see 1 or 2 points of growth year-over-year in the next couple of years, and we continue to ramp and scale,” Boatwright said. “The goal here is to ensure we can deliver an incredible consumer experience and not disrupt the core business, which is priority No. 1 for us.” ## Entities - QSR (sector) - QSR Magazine (publication) - menu innovation (topic) - Ben Coley (person) - Chipotle (company) - sales growth (topic) - digital sales (topic) - Scott Boatwright (person) - operational improvements (topic) - Adam Rymer (person) - catering expansion (topic) --- Originally reported by Ben Coley, QSR Magazine (https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/chipotle-looks-to-brisket-and-better-operations-to-sustain-sales-growth/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/64308527-5f37-4bc0-b7d8-3fcbe4256717).