Chipotle CEO Addresses Great Burrito Weight Debate

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Chief Executive Brian Niccol told analysts on Wednesday that the restaurant chain would be making changes to its burrito-building process across its 3,500-plus locations (NYSE: CMG).  

The Newport Beach-based company, Orange County’s second-largest restaurant chain, reported second-quarter revenue climbed 18.2% to $3 billion. 

During Chipotle’s earnings call, Niccol addressed the recent trend of customers entering restaurants to record the employees making their burrito bowl orders and walking out if they deemed the portions too little. 

“First, there was never a directive to provide less to our customers,” Niccol said during the call. “With that said, getting the feedback caused us to relook at our execution across our entire system.” 

He later added that because of the feedback, the company will invest in making “generous portions” more consistent throughout all its restaurants. About 10% of stores were considered outliers in portion sizes and will be retrained to the “right standards,” Niccol said, pointing out that the remaining 90% were “doing business as usual.”  

Chipotle also reported over 8% transaction growth during the second quarter. Shares decreased 2% to $50.58 with a $69 billion market cap during midday trading.