• In an earnings call on Wednesday, Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said he is “confident in the long-term opportunity to more than double the number of Chipotle restaurants in the US.”
  • Even though overall sales were down 9.8% last quarter year-over-year, Niccol said in the earnings call that Chipotle is still positioned for rapid growth.
  • According to a recent Yelp report, nearly 16,000 restaurants have already closed permanently, with more to do so as the pandemic continues to strangle economic activity.
  • Niccol said that “less competition for high-quality sites as other businesses pull back” will allow Chipotle to build more new restaurants.
  • “We expect to see an acceleration in the number of new units opened in 2021,” Niccol said.
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