Chipotle Shifts Focus from New Concepts to Brand Building in Wake of Health Food Restaurant’s Failure

In a surprising turn of events, Chipotle has decided to refocus on its core brand after the closure of its health food restaurant concept, Farmesa. The futuristic restaurant only opened one location in Los Angeles in 2023 and primarily relied on kiosks and third-party delivery apps for ordering.

Initially, Nate Lawton, vice president of new ventures at Chipotle, was optimistic about the concept and believed there was an opportunity to serve premium, craveable food every day. However, Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol has decided to shift the company’s focus towards turning Chipotle into an iconic brand rather than exploring new concepts.

While Niccol hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of a new concept in the future, he emphasized that their current priority is to grow and solidify the Chipotle brand both in the U.S. and internationally. The closure of Farmesa comes amid a challenging time for fast-food operators in California, where the state implemented a $20 minimum wage for workers earlier this year. To offset increased labor costs, Chipotle had to raise prices by 6%-7% in the state.