Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

What does Chipotle Mexican Grill own?

Chipotle operates a single restaurant brand, Chipotle, across more than 4,000 locations. It has wound down side concepts including ShopHouse and Tasty Made, and holds an investment interest in the Pizzeria Locale pizza concept. Its growth strategy focuses on the core Chipotle brand rather than a multi-brand portfolio.

Is Chipotle Mexican Grill publicly traded?

Yes. Chipotle trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CMG and is a member of the S&P 500. The company completed a 50-for-1 stock split in June 2024. There is no controlling shareholder.

Who founded Chipotle?

Chef Steve Ells founded Chipotle in Denver, Colorado, in July 1993. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Ells intended the burrito shop to fund a fine dining restaurant, but its success redirected him to expansion. He led the company until 2017.

Where is Chipotle Mexican Grill headquartered?

Chipotle is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The company moved its headquarters from Denver, where it was founded, to Southern California in 2018 after Brian Niccol became CEO.

Who owns Chipotle?

Chipotle is publicly owned, with shares held mostly by institutional investors. McDonald's was once its majority owner, investing from 1998 to 2001 and divesting completely around the 2006 IPO. No single entity controls the company today.

How many Chipotle restaurants are there?

As of December 31, 2025, there were 4,056 Chipotle restaurants: 3,938 in the United States, 104 company-owned international locations, and 14 partner-operated restaurants in the Middle East. The company plans 350 to 370 new openings in 2026 and has begun entering Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore.

Steve Ells, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who had worked at the San Francisco restaurant Stars, opened the first Chipotle in a former ice cream shop near the University of Denver in July 1993. His goal was modest: sell enough burritos to fund a fine dining restaurant. The first store was projected to need roughly $114 in daily sales to break even. It was doing far more than that within weeks, and Ells abandoned the fine dining plan to expand the burrito concept.

Growth was funded partly by Ells's father and later by outside investors. McDonald's began investing in Chipotle in 1998 and became its majority owner by 2001. Under McDonald's backing, Chipotle grew from about 15 restaurants to more than 500 by 2005. The relationship was always strained: McDonald's pushed franchising, breakfast, and drive-through service, while Ells resisted all three. In 2006, McDonald's exited entirely and Chipotle held an initial public offering in January 2006 at $22 per share. The stock more than doubled on its first day of trading.

Through the late 2000s and early 2010s Chipotle was one of the fastest-growing restaurant stocks in the market. The company crossed 1,000 restaurants, expanded to Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and pioneered what became known as the fast casual segment. Its marketing emphasized antibiotic-free meat, local produce, and the absence of artificial ingredients, differentiating it from conventional fast food.

The company's trajectory broke in late 2015 when a series of foodborne illness outbreaks, including E. coli O26 infections across several states, norovirus incidents in Boston and California, and a salmonella outbreak in Minnesota, sickened hundreds of customers. Comparable sales collapsed, and the stock lost roughly half its value over two years. Ells stepped down as CEO in 2017 and later left the company.

Brian Niccol, previously CEO of Taco Bell, took over in March 2018 and relocated headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach, California. Under Niccol, Chipotle rebuilt food safety protocols, launched digital order pickup shelves and the Chipotlane drive-through format, expanded the menu with items like quesadillas and carne asada, and drove digital sales from under $1 billion to more than $3 billion annually. Niccol departed in August 2024 to become CEO of Starbucks, and Scott Boatwright, the company's chief restaurant officer, was named chief executive officer in November 2024.

FY2025 was a difficult year. Comparable restaurant sales fell 1.7%, the first annual decline since 2016, as lower and middle income customers cut visit frequency amid inflation. Total revenue still grew 5.4% to $11.9 billion on new unit openings, and net income reached $1.54 billion. In February 2026 the company launched its Recipe for Growth strategy focused on restaurant execution, menu innovation, and speed of service. Chipotle opened its first Asian restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2026 through a joint venture with Sangmidang Holdings, and entered Mexico in 2026 through a development agreement with restaurant operator Alsea.

Chipotle's sourcing program is central to its identity. The company reports that the majority of its ingredients carry no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and it maintains standards for responsibly raised meat, including antibiotic-free and hormone-free requirements where supply allows. It publishes an annual sustainability report covering local produce purchases, composting pilots, and a target to divert a majority of restaurant waste from landfills. These commitments are self-reported rather than certified by an independent body such as B Lab.

Chipotle's most serious scrutiny followed the 2015 and 2016 foodborne illness outbreaks. In 2020, the company agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into the incidents, the largest fine ever imposed in a food safety case at the time, under a deferred prosecution agreement. It also admitted to failures in its food safety practices and rebuilt its supply chain and store-level protocols.

Labor issues have produced repeated penalties. The company paid approximately $20 million in 2022 to settle New York City Fair Workweek claims affecting thousands of workers, and paid $7.75 million in 2023 to resolve New Jersey child labor violations. In 2022 it closed its first unionized store in Augusta, Maine, drawing unfair labor practice complaints and a subsequent settlement with the union.

In 2024 the company faced sustained social media criticism over inconsistent portion sizes, prompting a public commitment to more generous serving. The episode pressured margins and contributed to executive attention on order accuracy and throughput.