Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) has signed leases for additional ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen locations. ShopHouse, the Southeast Asian concept developed by Chipotle, currently has one restaurant open in Washington, DC, with another Washington location and two Los Angeles area restaurants under construction and opening in the coming weeks. The newest locations will include additional restaurants in Los Angeles and in the Washington, DC area.
“The response we have seen to ShopHouse reminds me very much of what I saw when I opened the first Chipotle,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “People love the food and the experience, and appreciate that we are giving them something that is unique and flavorful, and doing it in a way that is accessible and affordable.”
The newest ShopHouse locations will be at 1055 Broxton Ave. in Westwood, Calif., 710 7th Street NW in Washington, DC, 4820 Bethesda Ave. in Bethesda, Md., and 11800 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md. The restaurants in Westwood and Bethesda are slated to open late in 2013, with the Rockville and Washington, DC locations slated to open in mid- to late-2014.
ShopHouse is influenced by traditional ingredients, flavors and cooking techniques of Southeast Asia, and the restaurant gets its name from traditional shophouses, a common form of architecture in Southeast Asian cities in which families live upstairs and operate restaurants or fresh markets on the ground floor. The ShopHouse model closely resembles Chipotle, including a commitment to serving food made with highest quality ingredients from more sustainable sources, preparing food in an open kitchen using classic cooking techniques, and serving customers in an interactive format that allows each individual to pick and choose exactly what goes in to their own order.
The new ShopHouse deals do not signify an acceleration of Chipotle’s development plans for the concept, and Chipotle’s growth will be driven primarily by developing the Chipotle brand in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that—where possible—are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. A similarly focused people culture, with an emphasis on identifying and empowering top performing employees, enables us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and currently operates more than 1,450 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen opened its first restaurant in 2011 in Washington, DC. Developed by Chipotle, ShopHouse draws on the unique flavors, ingredients and cooking methods of Southeast Asia, and takes its name from the mid-rise buildings prevalent throughout Southeast Asian cities where hard-working families live in apartments above the ground floor restaurants or markets that they operate. These shops serve as Asia’s version of fast food, with tiny kitchens turning out rice or noodle bowls laced with spicy sauces, marinated meats, and a flurry of herbs and vegetables. For more information, visit ShopHouseKitchen.com.
