Chipotle New Menu Items For Big Changes

Quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Chipotle Mexican Grill is gearing up for some big changes as it revamps its menu, adding new items like quesadillas and nachos. New grills need to be purchased, for example, and the assembly line needs to be reworked, The New York Times reported.

“We’re not built right now to make a great quesadilla,” said Chipotle’s chief executive officer, Brian Niccol. “The worst-case scenario is the person in front of you orders a quesadilla.”

Chipotle’s stores are designed to make a basic menu of burritos, salads, bowls and tacos. Its grills can warm tortillas in a matter of seconds, but take much longer — two and a half minutes — to cook quesadillas. As a result, the QSR will experiment by rolling out five menu items at its New York City-based NEXT test kitchen to make adjustments before bringing the items to more stores. The challenge will be how to bring in the new items without slowing down the assembly line.

Chipotle is also ramping up its digital efforts and may roll out more drive-thru lanes. Five of its locations currently feature drive-thrus in the U.S., but more might be in the works, CNBC reported.

As we are looking at our real estate pipeline, part of the criteria that has been introduced is to understand how many of those sites might lend themselves to that experience, even if we don’t open them immediately with [the mobile lane] enabled,” said Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief digital and information officer.

The QSR rolled out a new mobile app in November 2017, aimed at enhancing customers’ dining and online ordering experiences. Customers must order ahead through the mobile app or an online form to use Chipotle’s drive-thru lanes. The fast-casual restaurant chain provides customers with a pick-up time when they complete the ordering process, and customers can simply head to the drive-thru lane to retrieve their items instead of going into a store.


An Ode to Malls as Gen Z Craves IRL Experiences

three teenagers at mall

“The currency of now” takes on a decidedly different form in this poem about the mall’s resurgence. It celebrates the brick-and-mortar comeback fueled by Gen Z’s desire for IRL (in real life) connections and the evolving role of physical space in a digitally-driven world. Join us, with a little help from AI, as we examine this retail revolution, where the “currency” of cool reigns supreme.

Ode to the Mall’s Second Act
A rhyme for the retail renaissance

The tinsel’s gone, the carols now hushed,
New Year’s returns — cashiers mildly crushed.
A sea of sweatpants, gift cards in hand,
The mall’s a vibe unplanned.

But fear not, dear shopper, the story’s not bleak —
The mall’s plotting comebacks, not just peak weak week.

Gen Z’s in the food court, TikTokking their fries,
While swiping through Depop for vintage thigh-highs.

“IRL’s better!” they might say, “No porch pirates, no wait—
Just tag me @Aritzia, I’ll meet you at eight!”
They crave neon selfies, not screens’ pixelated glow,
So malls built a skatepark where a Sears used to go.

Shopify’s merchants now hawk leather and lace
In pop-ups by Simon — no “online-only” space.
Leap powers the kiosks, the QR code deals,
As D2C brands test if foot traffic feels.

Where Macy’s once stood, now micro-lofts bloom:
“Live above Lululemon!” they might chirp. “Bath bombs in every room!”
A dentist, a daycare, a co-working hub —
The mall’s now a Swiss Army knife, scrubbed of ’80s dud.

Mall of America’s got waterslides looping its floors,
While American Dream’s got a ski slope indoors.
“Why choose between Zara and ziplines?” they could grin,
As Nordstrom becomes Saks Fifth within.

Phones glow like fireflies in this retail ballet:
Price checks on Google, then “U up?” on Tinder (hey).

They scan, they compare, they Instagram the ‘fit—
But still buy the jeans ’cause the vibe’s so legit.

So here’s to the mall — that phoenix of bricks!
No longer a relic of cassette tape tricks.
With Gen Z as hypebeast and Shopify’s might,
It’s part TikTok backdrop, part urbanist’s right.

The future’s bright, chaotic, a bit over-leased …
But hey — at least parking’s finally decreased.