Chipotle Is ‘Happy’ With the Early Returns From Its New Burger Concept

After months of rumors and speculation, Chipotle Mexican Grill debuted its newest restaurant concept late last month in Lancaster, Ohio. Featuring a simple menu of burgers, fries, and shakes, Tasty Made’s sales are "off to a very good start," Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold tells Bloomberg.

The positive numbers — Arnold didn’t get into specifics in the Bloomberg report — have come despite lackluster early reviews. On the first day of business, some customers claimed Tasty Made "did not live up to the Chipotle brand," while others placed it between chains such as Wendy’s and Five Guys in terms of quality.

The Bloomberg report notes Tasty Made’s Yelp score is slowly rising, but it’s still at two-and-a-half-stars, based on 29 reviews, as of this posting. Some recent Yelpers have been "underwhelmed" and compared the burgers and shakes to McDonald’s. So far, the Lancaster and Columbus media have not offered critical reviews of the restaurant.

Arnold tells Eater the company has seen the Yelp criticism, but "the feedback we have had had been largely positive, and we are happy with how the restaurant is doing in its early days."

"The volumes have been strong, the food has been really good, and the team has been doing really well," he said in an email.

Tasty Made is the third Chipotle spinoff, following Pizzeria Locale and ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen. The company recently announced it's pulling out of the latter brand.

• Chipotle Says Sales Have Been ‘Strong' at New Burger Restaurant [Bloomberg]
• Chipotle's New Burger Concept Tasty Made Is Getting ‘Meh' Reviews [E]
• All Tasty Made Coverage [E]

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