TL;DR
Chipotle is closing 55 to 65 underperforming locations, including five Pizzeria Locale restaurants, as part of its turnaround efforts. The brand is also introducing new menu items and testing a new loyalty program.
Chipotle’s efforts to turn its business around are still underway. As noted by Business Insider, the brand announced that it’s closing about 55 to 65 underperforming locations. Half of those closures are expected to take place within the next month.
The closures happening across the Chipotle brand aren’t limited to that brand specifically — five of the seven remaining Pizzeria Locale, Chipotle’s fast casual pizza concept, will be closing their doors. That comes after the brand closed its only Tasty Made restaurant, which was operating in the better burger segment. Chipotle also announced that in addition to the closures, it’s attempting to re-brand through new deals designed to attract customers outside of the traditional lunch and dinner hours.
The brand will also be introducing new menu items and testing a new loyalty program this year.
The extensive re-branding initiative that Chipotle has been going through offers valuable lessons learned for franchise brands operating in the restaurant industry. By admitting that mistakes were made and adjusting its strategy going forward, Chipotle is hoping to get back to its core audience and business.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on June 28, 2018. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
Read the full story at 1851 FranchiseLiked this? Get the week's franchise news, explained
- Sunday 8 AM ET weekly + a monthly deep dive
- Sections picked for the industries you follow
- Every claim linked to its source. Free.
