Chipotle is opening a burger chain
(Hollis Johnson)
Chipotle is getting into the burger business.
The company is launching a burger chain called Tasty Made and the first location will open this fall in Lancaster, Ohio.
The menu will include burgers, fries, and shakes.
"Chipotle has been focused on a long-term vision to change the way people think about and eat fast food," Steve Ells, founder and co-CEO of Chipotle, said in a release. "At the heart of that is our commitment to great quality ingredients and classic cooking techniques — traits that are absolutely necessary to make the best tasting food, and that can be applied to number of kinds of cuisine."
The company said the new restaurant chain will use "high-quality ingredients that are grown and raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce them."
(Chipotle)
The brand will use beef raised without the use of antibiotics or added hormones and the shakes will be made with "real ingredients" including milk, cream, sugar, and eggs, and the buns for the burgers will be free of preservatives, dough conditioners, and other artificial ingredients.
"Early fast food burger restaurants generally had focused menus," Ells said. "We think there’s great strength in that original fast food model and wanted to create a restaurant built around that. Making only burgers, fries and shakes with really great ingredients, we think we can appeal to peoples’ timeless love of burgers, but in a way that is consistent with our long-term vision."
The company filed a trademark application for the phrase "Better Burger" in March but later ditched the phrase.
"We have two non-Chipotle growth seeds open now ― ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale ― and have noted before that the Chipotle model could be applied to a wide variety of foods," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Business Insider at the time.
Chipotle is likely launching a new brand to try and recoup losses from its namesake brand.
The company's sales have plunged over the last several months following E. coli outbreaks that affected restaurants in 14 states.
NOW WATCH: We tried Chipotle's newest menu item, which will be available nationwide later this year
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