Secrets of America's Favorite Restaurants: Chipotle Elevates Fast Food

Sept. 15, 2010 — -- A deliciously simple mathematical formula has transformed Chipotle from a single Mexican restaurant into a nationwide fast food chain with a cult-like following.

The menu posted in each of its 1,000 fast-food restaurants is limited to just four main items – burritos, tacos, burrito bowls and salad bowls. Yet, by inviting patrons to customize their orders, each of those staples can be served in up to 65,000 variations, said founder and CEO Steve Ells.

"People have been asking me for years now why don't I expand the menu," Ells said. "I think it's simple. If you can focus on just a few things and do them better than anyone else, people are going to recognize that quality and they are going to come back again and again."

And they do. Each day, 750,000 customers eat at Chipotle, named after a dried or smoked Jalapeno pepper. Many are drawn by the high quality of its produce and meats, mostly organically grown or raised naturally and often sourced from local farms.

"We spend a lot of time going out to farms sourcing free-range pigs that have never been given antibiotics or hormones," Ells said. "We're serving beef that doesn't have antibiotics and hormones. We are serving organic beans and, when in season, local produce that comes from farms that are close to the restaurants."

The result is a loyal cadre of customers, including one smitten enough to write and record a YouTube song about Chipotle. "Chipotle is the greatest place. Tastes so good, in your face… Sauce so great, makes me want to masticate," croons the fan.

That kind of devotion comes from shattering fast food expectations and instead serving minimally prepared natural ingredients. Chipotle's mission is to make the fast food experience better by introducing what is now the company's core motto: Food With Integrity.

"Everything we do is not typical fast food," Ells said. "We are bringing people into the kitchen because we want to show them fresh cilantro and fresh guacamole that we are mashing. Grilling chicken and constantly making fresh batches of rice. … Cilantro lime rice has the lime. … Fajita vegetables, those are great, we sauté them with fresh oregano."