Chipotle Mexican Grill announced the opening of its 500th restaurant with a Chipotlane, the brand’s digital order drive thru pick-up lane. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, the milestone opening underscores the brand’s ongoing commitment to driving access and convenience to real food made with true culinary every day.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this landmark Chipotlane opening,” says Tabassum Zalotrawala, Chief Development Officer. “Chipotlanes are the digital drive thru of the future and a key piece of our growth strategy as we plan to more than double our restaurant count over the long term to achieve 7,000 restaurants or more in North America.”
READ MORE: Inside the Rise of the Game-Changing ‘Chipotlane’
Chipotle is building a real estate pipeline to accelerate new unit growth with an emphasis on Chipotlanes. The Chipotlane format was introduced in the U.S. in early 2018, giving guests and delivery drivers a fast and convenient experience. New restaurant openings that feature this digital order pick-up lane have demonstrated higher volumes and greater returns than a traditional Chipotle restaurant format. In October 2021, Chipotle opened its first Chipotlane restaurant in Canada. Next year, the company plans to open between 255 to 285 new restaurants, with at least 80 percent including a Chipotlane.
Chipotle’s 500th Chipotlane restaurant is located in Louisville’s Fern Creek neighborhood of Jefferson County at 7710 Bardstown Road. The new location is open daily from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. Chipotle now has six restaurants in Louisville and 25 in Kentucky. To celebrate the new restaurant, Chipotle is giving the first 50 guests in line on opening day complimentary Chipotle Goods merchandise.
To further increase access for its digital guests, Chipotle recently partnered with ASAP.com, a regional marketplace partner that provides seamless delivery service in more than 1,000 cities, mainly in the Southeast and Northeast. The partnership is intended to provide a timely delivery experience from more than 600 Chipotle restaurants on the East Coast, South and Mid-West, in addition to Chipotle’s existing national delivery partnerships.
