What on earth is wrong with Chipotle?

At first I thought, ok sh*t happens they had e coli somewhere in lettuce and what-not (you know if you pour liquid manure to fertilize your produce chances are it will have some e coli) and people got sick. Chipotle will apologize, take some far-going preventive measures - case closed. That's what I thought would happen.

Then more people got sick in another part of the country. Then some more in another. Now Chipotle's stock has plunged 5%+. I am thinking to myself, someone is trying to shut that whole joint down. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, but I don't know what else to think. It will be a shame if the chain goes out of business. I loved Chipotle.

 

I never cared for Chipotle. I never understood its appeal. Any time raw food is involved, like vegetables, contamination is a possibility. You may remember Chi-Chi's, which was struggling and ended up closing all its US locations after a 2003 Hepatitis A outbreak due to contaminated onions. That was a real shame because I really liked Chi-Chi's. The good was pretty good and it was moderately priced.

Food-borne illness outbreaks are always bad publicity. I think Chipotle will survive.

 

That page is hilarious! Seems like whoever they can get they get them (Joel Osteen, Buffalo Wild Wings and on and on): https://www.facebook.com/wehopethishelps/?fref=nf

 

My understanding is that these chains leverage volume buying economies, many times, by having all restaurants buy from the same suppliers. This would explain the widespread eColi outbreak. It does not necessarily explain, however, the Norovirus outbreak in Boston that sickened 100+ college kids. Chipotle is still all over the cable news today, so they are a looong way off from putting this to rest.