Newport Beach-based Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) said Monday it deepened its services with third-party delivery provider Grubhub to make the chain’s food accessible nationally.
The expanded delivery coverage area lets customers order Grubhub through the Grubhub app or Chipotle.
Digital had already been a growing business for Chipotle pre-COVID, with digital sales up nearly 81% from the year-ago period in the first quarter. Third-party delivery and takeout became even more important when the pandemic hit.
The company services digital orders with a dedicated food preparation line at restaurants, which it calls its Digital Kitchens. Those separate lines are at most of Chipotle’s more than 2,600 locations.
Chipotle’s also continued to expand the number of Chipotlanes at restaurants. Chipotlanes are the company’s answer to drive-thru service and allows for even faster pick-up of digital orders through a dedicated pick-up lane, allowing customers to remain in their cars.
The first Chipotlane in Southern California, opened in Costa Mesa this year with a second one, also in Costa Mesa, opened last week.
Chipotle was trading up about 1% in midday trading Monday to $1,042.94 for a market cap of $29 billion.
