Chipotle Mexican Grill

1993: From a single location in Denver, Colorado, in 1993, the chain is now growing at the rate of 100 new restaurants per year thanks to the deep pockets of its parent, fast-food giant McDonald's Corporation. In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco and opened the first Chipotle Mexican Grill in Denver, Colorado, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream store at 1644 East Evans Avenue, near the University of Denver campus, using an $85,000 loan from his father.

1995: The second store opened in 1995 using Chipotle's cash flow, and the third was opened using an SBA loan.

1997: Revenues for the year totaled approximately $31 million, compared to $13 million for 1997. 1997: Six more Chipotle Mexican Grills open, bringing the total to 14.

1999: He told Nation's Restaurant News in January 1999 that in family travels across the United States and Europe he had an opportunity to taste many different foods and to develop an appreciation for fine cuisine at an unusually young age. The company opened its first location in Minnesota by opening near the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in March 1999. Jack Jack Greenberg, chairman and CEO of McDonald's beginning in 1999 knew he had to do something creative to grow our sales because things had slowed down.

2000: McDonald's is unique in that they don't let their franchisees In 2000, almost three out of four McDonald’s restaurants were run by franchisees or affiliates own other brands.

2001: By 2001, the company had grown to be Chipotle’s largest investor. 2001: Menu begins featuring Niman Ranch free-range pork.

2002: They’d say, “Gosh guys, why are you running 30 percent to 32 percent food costs? That's ridiculous; that's like a steakhouse.” In 2002, 29 percent of McDonald’s costs went to both food and packaging. About 55 more Chipotles opened in 2002 and another 70 the following year, bringing the total to 300.

2003: The chain entered the Las Vegas, Atlanta, and New York markets, among others, in 2003, by which time Technomic estimated revenues at $321 million. Late in 2003 McDonald's announced, contrary to earlier rumors, that it would sell neither Chipotle nor Boston Market, both of which were operating in the black (it soon sold Donatos Pizza, however). Chipotle remained a major growth avenue for McDonald's.

2004: By mid-2004 Chipotle was offering naturally raised, antibiotic-free chicken from Bell & Evans in 50 restaurants in Washington, D.C., New York, and Ohio. By late 2004, with the store count nearing 400, nothing appeared to be slowing Chipotle's remarkable growth.

2005: In March 2005, Monty Moran was appointed president and chief operating officer of Chipotle while Ells remained chairman and CEO. You say ‘OK, you can hold on to your McDonald’s shares or you can trade them in for Chipotle shares.’ There was no bigger go-go growth company In 2005, Chipotle’s profit was up sixfold at the time.

2006: In October 2006, McDonald’s fully divested from Chipotle.

2008: In 2008, Chipotle opened its first location outside of the United States in Toronto.

2009: In January 2009, president and chief operating officer Monty Moran was promoted to co-CEO, a position that he would share with Ells, while Moran retained his president position.

2010: In December 2010, Chipotle hired chef Nate Appleman to develop new cuisine. In 2010, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) audited Chipotle’s Minneapolis restaurants, and found that some employees had been hired using fraudulent documents.

2011: In February 2011, ICE expanded the audit to include 60 restaurants in Virginia and Washington, D.C, which resulted in 40 workers being fired. Consumer Reports ranked Chipotle as the best Mexican fast-food chain in 2011. In 2011, Steve Ells was a judge for the TV show America’s Next Great Restaurant and investor of ANGR Holdings, the company that will be running the winning concept’s restaurants.

2013: As of June 30, 2013, the company operates 1,502 restaurants, including two ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants. On December 18, 2013, the company revealed that it had opened its first fast-food pizza chain in Denver back in May 2013.

2014: In April 2014, Chipotle announced an increase in menu prices for the first time in nearly three years, due to increasing costs for steak, avocados, and cheese. The price increase is expected to be rolled out from the end of first quarter of 2014 until the end of the third quarter. “ For McDonald's to bend those rules and to let the guys own a Chipotle was very interesting, and a real change in the McDonald's culture. It's kind of funny when you look at the position that McDonald's is in today vs. what Chipotle is in, with so much upside and McDonald's struggling In 2014, McDonald’s sales declined 2.4 percent and profit slid 14.8 percent both from a stock price and consumer sentiment perspective.

2015: By Kyle Stock and Venessa Wong | February 2, 2015 In late 2015, Chipotle expanded its mobile strategy through delivery partnerships with tech startups like Tapingo, a delivery service that targets college campuses.

2016: On July 29, 2016, the company announced the opening of its first Tasty Made burger restaurant in the fall.

2018: In February 2018, Chipotle announced that Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol would replace Ells as CEO starting on March 5 while Ells would retain his chairman position. In May 2018, Chipotle announced that it would relocate headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach, California in Southern California. In June 2018, the company announced the closing of 65 under-performing restaurants.

2020: Ells broke all ties with the company in March 2020 by resigning as its chairman and departing from its board of directors.