This was supposed to be the year Chipotle put its behind it.
Company executives highly publicized new, gave out , experimented with and , and even added to the menu, all in an effort to woo back diners.
But customer service problems of another sort came to light instead — slow lines, messy tables and restaurants running out of food.
“I’ve estimated that ,” founder Steve Ells told investors in December.
When you’ve got more than 2,200 restaurants, that’s a lot of potentially sub-par dining experiences that the struggling Denver-based fast-casual chain can scarce afford right now. Chipotle’s same-store sales were down almost 22 percent in the most recent quarter, and stocks have lost almost half their value from before the E.coli outbreaks of fall 2015.
Ells, who was in December following the resignation of co-CEO Monty Moran, has promised to get back to basics and focus on the customer experience moving forward.
An infusion of — including two loyal to — will be watching closely in 2017 to see if he can make good.
Read the rest of the top business stories of 2016
