Chipotle History: 1993 to Today
Chipotle history runs from a single converted ice cream shop in Denver to more than four thousand restaurants in ten countries, and it contains one near-death experience that most brand histories skate over. The McDonald’s chapter is bigger than people remember, and the 2016 collapse in sales was more severe. Here is the timeline, built from the company own filings rather than from the retelling.
Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle on 13 July 1993 at 1644 East Evans Avenue, Denver, funded by an $85,000 loan from his father. McDonald’s controlled it from 1999 to 2006. Chipotle floated in January 2006 at $22 a share. The 2015 food safety crisis cut 2016 comparable sales by 20.4%. It opened its 4,000th restaurant in December 2025.
- Founded 13 July 1993 with an $85,000 loan from the founder’s father.
- McDonald’s controlled Chipotle from September 1999 to October 2006.
- IPO January 2006 at $22, with 481 restaurants at the time.
- 2016 comparable sales fell 20.4% after the food safety crisis.
- Every restaurant closed for a day on 8 February 2016.
- 4,000th restaurant opened December 2025 in Manhattan, Kansas.
1993: The Denver Ice Cream Shop
Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle on 13 July 1993 at 1644 East Evans Avenue in Denver, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream store near the University of Denver campus.
The funding story is the part worth keeping: an $85,000 loan from his father. His father later invested around $1.5 million as the concept proved itself, and a further $1.8 million was raised after that. The original intention, widely reported, was that the burrito shop would fund a fine-dining restaurant. It did not need to.
Chipotle the corporate entity came later: the Delaware company was formed on 30 January 1998, with a predecessor Colorado company from 1996 merged into it.
1998 to 2006: The McDonald’s Years
This chapter is bigger than most retellings allow. McDonald’s did not take a minority stake in Chipotle — it owned it.
- 1998 — McDonald’s begins a series of equity investments.
- September 1999 — Chipotle becomes a McDonald’s subsidiary as it acquires a controlling stake.
- January 2006 — even after the flotation, McDonald’s holds about 87 percent of the combined voting power and about 65 percent of the economic interest.
- 12 October 2006 — McDonald’s completes its exit through an exchange offer to its own shareholders.
2006: Going Public
Chipotle registration statement was declared effective on 25 January 2006 and the offering commenced the next day. It sold 6,060,606 shares at $22.00, with Morgan Stanley and SG Cowen as managing underwriters. The stock is widely reported to have doubled on its first day.
Growth from there was steady and documented in each annual report:
| Year end | Restaurants | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 481 | The year before the IPO |
| 2009 | 956 | |
| 2010 | 1,084 | Passed 1,000 |
| 2015 | 2,010 | Passed 2,000 |
| 2021 | 2,966 | Passed 3,000 in early 2022 |
| 2025 | 4,042 | 4,000th opened in December |
2015 and 2016: The Crisis
In late 2015 a series of food-borne illness incidents hit Chipotle. The principal one was E. coli O26, which began in Washington and Oregon and spread to small numbers of restaurants in up to twelve other states. A separate norovirus case occurred at a Brighton, Massachusetts restaurant in the week of 7 December 2015. Chipotle has stated the incidents were associated with its restaurants in as many as fifteen states.
The financial damage, from Chipotle own annual report for 2016, was severe enough that the figures are worth setting out in full:
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| FY2016 comparable restaurant sales | −20.4% |
| Q1 2016 | −29.7% |
| Q2 2016 | −23.6% |
| Q3 2016 | −21.9% |
| Q4 2016 | −4.8% |
| FY2016 transactions | −14.4% |
| Average sales per restaurant | $2.42m (2015) → $1.87m (2016) |
Chipotle closed every restaurant on 8 February 2016 for a company-wide food safety meeting. Restaurant operating costs rose sharply as a share of revenue, partly from losing the sales leverage and partly from heavy marketing to win customers back, and the enhanced food safety procedures added an expected ongoing cost of about one percent to food costs.
The governance consequences followed quickly. The board named Ells sole chief executive in the fourth quarter of 2016 as co-chief executive Monty Moran stepped down, and on 19 December 2016 four new directors were appointed — two of them nominated by Pershing Square Capital Management, then believed to be Chipotle largest shareholder.
2017 to 2024: The Rebuild
- November 2017 — Ells steps down as chief executive.
- March 2018 — Brian Niccol becomes chief executive, arriving from Taco Bell.
- May 2018 — Chipotle announces it is moving its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach, California.
- 2018 — the Chipotlane drive-thru format is introduced. It becomes the preferred format for new restaurants.
- March 2020 — Ells resigns as chairman, ending the founder involvement.
- July 2023 — Chipotle signs its first international development agreement, with Alshaya Group for the Middle East.
- June 2024 — a 50-for-1 stock split.
- August to November 2024 — Niccol leaves for Starbucks; Scott Boatwright becomes chief executive, and the board separates the chairman and chief executive roles.
Who runs it now is on our CEO guide, and the shareholder picture on our ownership guide.
2025 and 2026: Where It Stands
Two years of rapid international expansion, after fifteen years of almost none.
- April 2024 — Kuwait, the first new country in over a decade.
- October 2024 — the United Arab Emirates.
- 12 December 2025 — the 4,000th restaurant opens in Manhattan, Kansas, with leadership ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell that morning.
- 16 July 2026 — Mexico, in Nuevo León, ending the long-running observation that Chipotle had never opened in the home country of the cuisine it serves.
- August 2026 — Saudi Arabia.
- 2 September 2026 — South Korea, Chipotle first restaurant in Asia, in Seoul.
- 29 September 2026 — the 1,500th Chipotlane opens in Bradenton, Florida.
As of 30 June 2026 Chipotle operated 4,201 restaurants and is targeting 7,000 in the United States and Canada long term — a figure it said in December 2025 it is now over halfway toward. The current footprint is on our locations guide and the country list on our countries guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who started Chipotle and when?
Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle on 13 July 1993 at 1644 East Evans Avenue in Denver, Colorado, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream store near the University of Denver. He funded it with an $85,000 loan from his father, who later invested around $1.5 million as the business grew.
Was Chipotle owned by McDonald’s?
Yes, for roughly seven years. McDonald’s began investing in 1998 and Chipotle became its subsidiary in September 1999 when it acquired a controlling stake. Immediately after Chipotle’s January 2006 flotation McDonald’s still held about 87 percent of the combined voting power, and it disposed of its remaining interest effective 12 October 2006.
What happened to Chipotle in 2015?
A series of food-borne illness incidents, principally E. coli O26 that began in Washington and Oregon and spread to small numbers of restaurants in up to twelve other states, plus a separate norovirus case in Brighton, Massachusetts in December. Chipotle has stated the incidents were associated with its restaurants in as many as fifteen states.
How badly did the E. coli crisis hurt Chipotle?
Severely. Comparable restaurant sales fell 20.4 percent across 2016, with the first quarter down 29.7 percent, driven primarily by a 14.4 percent decline in transactions. Average sales per restaurant dropped from $2.42 million at the end of 2015 to $1.87 million at the end of 2016. Chipotle closed every restaurant for a company-wide food safety meeting on 8 February 2016.
When did Chipotle go public?
Its registration statement was declared effective on 25 January 2006 and the offering commenced the following day. Chipotle sold 6,060,606 shares at $22.00 each, with Morgan Stanley and SG Cowen as managing underwriters. It operated 481 restaurants plus eight franchised locations at the end of 2005.
Does Steve Ells still work at Chipotle?
No. He stepped down as chief executive in November 2017, with Brian Niccol taking over in March 2018, and he resigned as chairman of the board on 6 March 2020. He holds no management or board role, and is not listed among holders of more than five percent in the 2026 proxy statement.
Methodology
Company figures, leadership, ownership, restaurant counts and historical detail on this page are taken from Chipotle filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, from Chipotle company press releases and from chipotle.com, all checked in October 2026. Where a figure is derived from Chipotle own store directory rather than published by the company, this page says so. Where Chipotle does not publish something, that is stated rather than filled in from third-party sources. Company data changes with each quarterly report; confirm current figures in Chipotle latest filing.
