Qdoba Launches Attack on the Brown Bag Lunch

With more than 8.5 billion brown bag lunches being packed by Americans in 2008 and 93 percent of them packed for financial reasons, Qdoba Mexican Grill announced today that it will offer guests an affordable, fresh, hot alternative to the brown bag lunch. Starting Monday, Feb. 9, guests will be able to save money at participating Qdoba locations when they purchase a chicken entrée meal for only $6.99.

Qdoba guests can order a complete meal that includes any full-sized, completely customizable chicken entrée with a side of chips and salsa and a regular fountain beverage for just $6.99. Qdoba’s diverse menu offers more than 18 entrees that can be made with chicken, including four of its signature burritos (Ancho Chile BBQ, Fajita Ranchera, Queso, and Poblano Pesto), Naked Burritos, soft or hard shell tacos, taco salads, quesadillas, nachos, and Mexican Gumbo. All entrees are handmade in front of the customer and are topped with personally selected fresh ingredients, including one of five distinctive salsas.

“We understand that many Americans are trying to save money when it comes to their meals,” said Gary Beisler, chief executive officer of Qdoba. “We’re offering our customers an alternative to the often-boring brown bag lunch.”

Health/nutrition is the second reason that Americans say they’ve increased the frequency of packing their lunches. Qdoba’s specially-priced chicken entrée meal allows customers to choose from hundreds of healthy combinations on the menu.

Following is a list of cities with participating restaurants:

• Arkansas: Fayetteville
• Colorado: Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins
• Georgia: Atlanta
• Idaho: Boise
• Illinois: Chicago
• Indiana: Evansville
• Kentucky: Florence
• Michigan: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Muskegon, St. Joseph
• Minnesota: Bemidji, Minneapolis
• Mississippi: Southhaven
• Missouri: St. Louis, Springfield
• New Jersey: Hasbrouck Heights, New Brunswick, Rockaway
• New York: New York (the West Nyack location will offer the meal for $7.99)
• Nevada: all locations, including Carson City, Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks
• North Carolina: all locations, including Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem
• Ohio: Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Columbus
• Oklahoma: Stillwater, Tulsa
• Oregon: all locations, including Corvallis, Eugene, and Portland
• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, and West Chester
• Tennessee: Chattanooga, Memphis
• Texas: Dallas/Ft. Worth
• Wyoming: Cheyenne, Laramie