Chipotle to close up to 66 restaurants
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said it will close between 55 and 66 underperforming restaurants.
The company is not releasing which stores will be shuttered.
"We don't have a public list yet, but half will close in the next 30 days and half over the next three quarters," spokeswoman Quinn Kelsey said Thursday.
She pointed out that earlier this year, the company said they planned to open 130 restaurants. "So there still is an increase in openings," she said.
The move to close the restaurants - open between two and 15 years and spread out through the nation - marks some of the first big moves by the chain's new CEO, Brian Niccol, who took over March 5 from founder Steve Ells.
From digital expansion to a loyalty program, Niccol is implementing new growth strategies for the chain that boasts healthy options. "What fits into people's lifestyle is Chipotle's great-tasting, clean ingredients," Niccol said.
After struggling to bring back diners following multiple illness outbreaks, Chipotle has recently started to see better results under Niccol. The chain is investing in employees and store remodels, working on faster service times, and spending to improve its advertising, executives said during a call Wednesday for shareholders and analysts.
"There was a general lack of customer understanding," Niccol said during the call. "Our marketing dollars had been inefficiently allocated."
The company announced in May that it's relocating its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach, California.
Chipotle is tweaking almost everything. There's a new marketing tagline coming later this year with new advertising coming in 2019, Niccol said. The company began running national television commercials this spring to help bump sales in the short term. Last week, Chipotle said it would start testing new foods in New York City including chocolate milkshakes, avocado tostadas and nachos. Niccol also recently partnered with DoorDash to offer delivery service.
"We're going to be much more digitally focused, we're going to be much more consumer focused," Niccol said.
• Bloomberg contributed to this report.