If ever there was a place that would be a go-to destination for a good breakfast burrito, you would think it would have to be Chipotle, right? That’s the new business plan as the restaurant chain is exploring new possibilities for menu items that includes serving breakfast, dessert, pizza and burgers.
The news comes as Chipotle as it released its third-quarter earnings, which saw a 21.9 percent drop in sales. Revenue dropped 14.8 percent as well, which is why Chipotle is looking to find other new menu items to encourage customers to come in and spend some cash in their locations. This is a pretty significant change in business philosophy for Chipotle, which has tried to refrain from adding additional menu items that take away from Chipotle’s specialties.
“People from the very beginning said that I would have to expand the menu—that it was far too limited with burritos and tacos,”. “They said I needed desserts. And I needed coffee. And I needed chimichangas! I argued instead [that we should] just focus on making our existing offering better, not only through better cooking techniques and better training of our crew, [but also] better hospitality and more efficient equipment.”
As for breakfast, there appears to be some demand for it.
if you play a pizza backwards on a record player you hear sir alec guinness reciting the recipe for a chipotle breakfast burrito
— Sunshine Jarboly (@SunshineJarboly) October 27, 2016
If I could have a chipotle burrito for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I would.
— cara (@heeycara) October 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/NickMeress6/status/790198090275762176
https://twitter.com/TrumpHat/status/791457608137924608
“There have been suggestions that we add breakfast,”Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ells said on an earnings call. “I’m not saying that we won’t add breakfast.”
Given all the breakfast options out there today, Chipotle will be enetering a crowded market. Between McDonald’s and Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks and many more, Chipotle will have to make sure it is offering the best quality breakfast burritos to compete with the Sausage Egg and Cheese McMuffin. Other popular chains have invested in breakfast in recent years, like Wendy’s, because there is a market for it. Until now, Chipotle has stayed out of that game.
But what is also interesting is the possibility of adding pizza and burgers to the menu to attract more of a casual customer. Would doing so take away from the quality of Chipotle’s main menu items? If it makes up for lost revenue opportunities, will anybody invested in Chipotle care?
[Fast Company/Photo: Getty Images]
