Chipotle Getting Into Pizza

The Mexican food chain is applying its blueprint for making burrito to pizzas.

December 19, 2013

NEW YORK – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is looking to change the way U.S. consumers eat pizza, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Mexican food chain is applying its blueprint for making burritos — customize them, make them quickly and incorporate high-quality ingredients — to thin-crust, artisanal pizzas, trying to carve out a new niche for consumers.

Earlier this year, Chipotle helped finance the opening of Pizzeria Locale in Denver, a restaurant that serves pizza just as Chipotle prepares burritos. Customers stand in line and choose toppings while watching their food being made. Eleven-inch pizzas cost roughly $6.50 and take just minutes to make. 

Pizza is playing an increasing role in the American diet. According to data from NPD Group, about 75% of people reported eating a pizza once in a two-week period, up from 66% in 2003. 

However, preparing premium pizza quickly is challenging, requiring a skilled cook to shift the pizza, avoiding uneven hot spots.

Pizzeria Locale addressed those challenges by deploying specially constructed gas ovens that distribute heat more evenly than wood-fired ovens, said Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, co-owner of the restaurant. The pizza rotates around the oven and cooks in about two minutes at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mackinnon-Patterson acknowledged that he faces a steep challenge in persuading customers to eat pizza that is low on cheese with a slightly charred crust.

"All these triple-cheese, stuffed this-and-that" pizzas don't improve taste, Mackinnon-Patterson says. "I want the canvas of the dough to be seasoned as you would a great salad. ... It's just not something that most Americans are used to and we realize that."

Denver Local is Chipotle’s second venture beyond Mexican cuisine. It has opened six ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants and plans to open more. "I don't think there is a kind of cuisine that wouldn't fit into the Chipotle format," said Chipotle CEO Mr. Ells.

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