Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its 500th restaurant with a Chipotlane, the brand’s digital order drive thru pick-up lane, in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this landmark Chipotlane opening,” said Tabassum Zalotrawala, chief development officer. “Chipotlanes are the digital drive-thru of the future and a key piece of our growth strategy as we plan to more than double our restaurant count over the long term to achieve 7,000 restaurants or more in North America.”
Chipotle is building a real estate pipeline to accelerate new unit growth with an emphasis on Chipotlanes. The Chipotlane format was introduced in the U.S. in early 2018. New restaurant openings that feature this digital order pick-up lane have demonstrated higher volumes and greater returns than a traditional Chipotle restaurant format. In October 2021, Chipotle opened its first Chipotlane restaurant in Canada. Next year, the company plans to open between 255 to 285 new restaurants, with at least 80% including a Chipotlane.
Chipotle’s 500th Chipotlane restaurant is located in Louisville’s Fern Creek neighborhood of Jefferson County at 7710 Bardstown Rd.
