Maybe you're sick of fast food. Sick of a lunch that consists of a jumbo sized order of French fries (you know the kind that leave little translucent oil stains on whatever they come in contact with). So is Chipotle, their restaurants are turning heads with their incredibly simple, fast, and clean organization. Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle Mexican Grill in Denver in early 1993. His goal? To serve high quality, fresh, Mexican dishes with the speed of a fast food outlet, ultimately foraging into a new market that's being called "fast-casual." Mcdonalds Corp. recently became a minority buyer of Chipotle and is thriving off of this segment which now totals $7 billion in value, the fastest growing segment of the $300 billion restaurant industry. Chipotle's recipe for success is simple: provide fast-food style service chock full of fresh ingredients.

Chipotle holds a unique place in the fast food world by promising that you'll never see a can opener, microwave, or freezer in their store. In addition to their commitment to freshness, Chipotle has also drawn a lot of customers (a comp-store sales growth of 10.2%) due to the organic vegetables and free-range meats they use. Ultimately, they understand that meeting the needs of the customer means meeting the needs of the industry.

Chipotle has opened nearly 300 restaurants every year since 2002 and expects to introduce between 80 and 90 new locations in 2006. They continue to expand into untapped markets with the help of about $100 million in IPO proceeds and internally generated cash flow. Each Chipotle location has a unique design that focuses on ideas of excitement, action, and choice. Chipotle is giving their customers more and is making millions doing it. People want better choices and experiences while dining and Chipotle makes this possible. I mean, who has non-organizational websites being published about their fast food chain such as
http://www.chipotlelovers.com and http://www.choptlefan.com? Chipotle's loyal customer base is spreading the healthy goodness all over the country.