Lately, Chipotle has been going through a bit of a rough patch. There have been numerous cases of contaminated food causing serious illness throughout the country, followed by a series of lawsuits.
According to The Oregonian, Chipotle’s ordeal started back in July 2015, when two people in Seattle contracted E. coli and were hospitalized after visiting the restaurant. Things got worse in August when between 80 and 200 people fell ill when a Simi Valley Chipotle served food contaminated with norovirus. In the same month, 17 Minneapolis-area Chipotles experienced a salmonella outbreak that reached 64 people.
The first E. coli outbreak of the year began in Oct. 2015 in Oregon and Washington. Up to 52 cases were reported and 20 people were hospitalized. Every one of those 52 people had eaten Chipotle in the week before they contracted the bacteria, but the CDC is still unsure of what product caused the outbreak. In November, the chain experienced another norovirus outbreak, this time in Boston. A Chipotle near the Boston College campus allowed a sick employee to serve food, resulting in 80 people getting the virus. Additionally, the chain is dealing with a federal investigation and multiple lawsuits for its role in the outbreaks.
So, how has this affected Chipotle’s image? Again, it seems to depend on who you ask. The direction of the restaurant’s sales suggests this publicity has not been kind. The New York Times reports a 14.6 pecent decrease in Chipotle sales for the fourth quarter of 2015. However, not all stores have suffered from the outbreaks.
“Business has been the same,” said a Colorado Springs Chipotle employee. “There hasn’t been a difference in the number of people that come in, but people sometimes joke about [the outbreaks].”
Chipotle is working hard to restore its reputation as the nation’s top healthy fast food restaurant. CEO Steve Ells wrote an apology letter that was published in 61 newspapers. The chain is offering more free meals. It’s food safety protocols have been updated and highly publicized. The Colorado Springs Chipotle employee quoted above said the “procedures all changed for the better” and that the restaurant is “trying to be 10-15 years ahead of industry norms in terms of food safety.” And, on Feb. 8, all 1,900 restaurants will close from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for a “national staff meeting about food safety.”
CC is home to many Chipotle patrons who’ve had different reactions to the situation.
“I ate there once during the outbreaks and it was fine,” said first-year Ty Christensen. “I think there definitely was a problem, but the food is good so I’ll go anyway.”
First-year Kaitlin Cintorino said that she didn’t hear much about the outbreaks, but she would “definitely still go there.”
Sophomore Helena Thatcher is not as faithful. She refuses to eat at Chipotle, saying “the risk of serious health issues far outweighs the ease of Chipotle.”
Sophomore Raine Kennedy was the most passionate in her response to the outbreaks, saying with a straight face: “I don’t care if I get E. coli. Chipotle is worth it.”
Abe Lahr
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