Chipotle, Blaze Pizza and more coming to Tanglewood Mall in 2022
ROANOKE, Va. โ Tanglewood Mall is getting a delicious upgrade in 2022. Officials announced Wednesday that four new restaurants and a new dentistry will be making their way to Electric Road starting this year. Among those businesses are Chipotle, Panda Express, Blaze Pizza, Jersey Mikeโs and Aspen Dental. Two new buildings, which will be home to those fives businesses, will be constructed along Electric Road in front of the new Carilion Childrenโs, which is where the former JC Penney was located. Blackwater Resources said construction will begin March 2021, and tenants will begin opening these new businesses at the start of 2022.
Chipotle's supply of carne asada is running low
Say it ain't so -- Chipotle's supply of carne asada is running low. The restaurant is expecting to run out of its popular new meat late next month or early December. It's Chipotle's first new meat offering since it re-introduced chorizo in 2018. The roll out of carne asada was in an effort to boost sales -- and apparently it worked. one way is through it's so-called chipot-lanes --- drive-thru lanes for customers who place mobile orders.
Chipotle CEO says breakfast off the table for now
"We're not going to be doing breakfast anytime soon," CEO Brian Niccol told CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans at a private event in Los Angeles. "In order for us to continue to run Chipotle there, part of the deal is we have to serve breakfast," Niccol said. Instead of branching out into breakfast, Chipotle is leaning into what it knows its customers are after: meat burritos for lunch and, increasingly, dinner. Together, the changes have made it easier for groups to order, Niccol explained, which means more dinner orders. By focusing on lunch and dinner, Chipotle avoids the costs associated with breaking into breakfast.
Chipotle adds carne asada to its menu
(CNN) - Chipotle is adding a new protein to its menu for the first time in a year. The restaurant is rolling out carne asada, a marinated steak, for a limited time at its more than 2,000 stores in the United States beginning Tuesday. The carne asada option was tested in three American cities over the past year, and the company said it performed "incredibly well." In addition to new meat menu items, Chipotle has also recently shaken up its menu for vegetarians. Earlier this year, it rolled out new vegan or vegetarian bowls made from existing ingredients.
Chipotle bowls contain cancer-linked chemicals, study claims
Joe Raedle / Getty ImagesNEW YORK - Chipotle bowls have become one of the chain's most popular meals, but the actual bowls in which the food is served gets experts worried. A new report in the New Food Economy says the fiber bowls used by Chipotle contain chemicals that may lead to cancer. KDKA reports the bowls are treated with chemicals known as PFAS to keep them from breaking apart when filled with hot, wet and greasy food. PFAS, which are also called forever chemicals, do not break down in the human body, according to the EPA, and accumulate over time. Kidney and testicular cancers are linked to PFAS chemicals.
Chipotle is soaring: Sales rose 10% last quarter
The company said that sales at stores open at least 13 months grew 10% in the second quarter. The second quarter, which ended on June 30, marks the sixth-straight quarter of comparable store growth, the metric used for stores open for at least 13 months. It has also expanded its rewards program nationwide, and sales through digital channels have soared. During the second quarter, digital sales grew 99.1% and made up 18.2% of all purchases. During the quarter, Chipotle also added 19 net new stores.
Chipotle has fully recovered from its E. coli problems
Shares of Chipotle hit a new all-time high Monday for the first time since August 2015. Under Niccol, Chipotle has added new salad bowls to cater to consumers on paleo and ketogenic diets, and has also introduced more menu options for vegetarians and vegans. Digital sales more than doubled and now account for about 16% of total revenue. "We are definitely under a digital transformation at Chipotle," Niccol told CNN's Christine Romans in February. Wall Street is hoping that Chipotle will be a big hit overseas as well.
Chipotle wants to give workers extra month of pay
Joe Raedle/Getty Images(CNN) - Chipotle is cutting through a tight labor market with a new incentive: An extra month's worth of pay. The offer is part of a new bonus program for hourly employees at its restaurants, which Chipotle announced Tuesday. If those quotas are met, Chipotle will pay employees a bonus each quarter equal to one week's pay. Chipotle will average the weekly pay that hourly workers make over the quarter to determine the bonus. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in April, the lowest level since December 1969.