UK: Chipotle Opens First London Restaurant

Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened its first European restaurant in London. The company, which operates nearly 1,000 restaurants in the United States, is also looking for additional sites in London and exploring other European markets including Paris and select cities in Germany. "We think the prospects are very good for Chipotle in London and around Europe," said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-chief executive officer of Chipotle. "The food culture in Europe is based on local, sustainable and artisanal foods, which are all core values of Chipotle and we have been instrumental in bringing this kind of thinking to fast food in the USA. We call it 'Food with Integrity' and it is one of the ways we are changing the way people think about and eat fast food." The chain  is committed to serving food made with ingredients from sustainable sources, including naturally raised meat (from animals that are humanely raised, never given antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet), local and organic produce, and milk from cows that are not treated with synthetic hormones, according to Chipotle.

Chipotle brings the same food philosophy to its first restaurant in London, where it is using premium quality ingredients from local sources, including chicken that is grown to a higher welfare specification, pork that comes from pigs reared on farms that offer large acre paddocks where the pigs can roam freely and display natural behaviours, and beef from Farm Assured British Farms where the cattle are reared in humane and compassionate conditions. Chipotle in London features a decidedly focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls and salads. With a service format that allows customers to decide exactly what goes into their individual order, there are more than 60,000 possible combinations.

Chipotle Mexican Grill