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Brian Niccol, President and CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, talks about increasing drive-through locations and digital infrastructure to meet growing demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Chipotle opens its first digital-only restaurant, the Chipotle Digital Kitchen.
Rather than the typical service line of quick and casual burrito-building, the digital kitchen will consist solely of a dedicated hall for offsite orders and food pickup. However, the Chipotle experience will be far from over, as all the sounds, smells and sights of a traditional restaurant kitchen will be pampered throughout the reception area.
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The new prototype, located in Highland Falls, New York, comes as Chipotle seeks to expand locations in high-density urban markets without the costs of operating a full-scale restaurant. The virtual food court will also help accelerate digital activity in non-traditional locations.
Interior of Chipotle’s first digital kitchen in Highland Falls, New York. (Chipotle)
“The digital kitchen incorporates innovative features that will complement our rapidly growing digital business, while providing a convenient and frictionless experience for our customers,” Chipotle CTO Curt Garner said in a statement. “With digital sales tripling year over year last quarter, consumers are demanding more digital access than ever before. We are therefore constantly exploring new ways to improve our customers’ experience. ”
Chipotle’s digital sales grew 202.5% year-over-year to $ 776.4 million and accounted for 48.8% of sales in the last quarter, according to Tabassum Zalotrawala, director of global development by Chipotle. Shipping accounted for about half of those digital sales, which benefited from expanded partnerships. The remainder of the sales came from advance order transactions.
“Fortunately, what we did before the pandemic was we invested heavily in digital accessibility for our customers – whether it was the app, the website,” said Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle, to Neil Cavuto of Fox Business. Off-site orders particularly took off when door-to-door orders were put in place and “will continue to be a key factor in our success and in our ability to handle the crisis.”
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The new digital-only concept will depend on orders through Chipotle’s website, app or third-party delivery partners. The digital kitchen will also accommodate large catering orders available for pickup in a separate lobby.
Exterior of Chipotle’s first digital kitchen in Highland Falls, New York. (Chipotle)
“We absolutely plan to open more digital kitchens and are carefully evaluating the best shopping areas for Chipotle in which to expand this test,” Zalotrawala said in a statement to FOX Business. “Future locations will be areas where Chipotle achieves higher sales volume through digital business.”
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