Chipotle abandons Farmesa Fresh Eatery spinoff after ghost kitchen closes

Chipotle
Mexican
Grill
is
abandoning
its
Farmesa
Fresh
Eatery
spinoff
after
partner
Kitchen
United
closed
its
ghost
kitchens.

A
little
over
a
year
ago,
Chipotle
announced
the
opening
of
its
first

Farmesa
location
at
Kitchen
United’s
Santa
Monica
location.
The
spinoff’s
menu
focused
on
customizable
bowls.
Its
brand
name
is
a
portmanteau
of “farm”
and “mesa,”
the
Spanish
word
for
table,
in
an
attempt
to
communicate
its
farm-to-table
approach.

But
the
Santa
Monica
ghost
kitchen
closed
in
February
as
its
parent
company
struggled
financially.

Curt
Garner,
Chipotle’s
chief
customer
and
technology
officer,
told
CNBC
on
Wednesday
that
the
company
has
no
plans
to
open
a
freestanding
version
of
Farmesa.
However,
the
brand
lives
on
in
the
company’s
innovation
lab
for
new
menu
items,
he
said.

Chipotle’s
primary
focus
now
is
on
its
own
brand,
both
in
the
U.S.
and
outside
of
it
through
its
burgeoning
international
business,
CEO
Brian
Niccol
said
Wednesday
on
the
company’s
earnings
call.

“Obviously,
if
the
opportunity
presents
itself
where
it
would
make
sense
for
us
to
do
something
outside
of
the
brand,
so
I
would
never
want
to
say
never,
but
it’s
just
not
a
focus
for
us
right
now,”
he
told
analysts.

Instead,
the
company
has
been
focusing
on
improving
its
restaurants’
efficiency
and
speed
to
boost
sales.
Chipotle’s

first-quarter
earnings
and
revenue
topped
Wall
Street’s
estimates
on
Wednesday.

In
November,
Kitchen
United
announced
plans
to
close
or
sell
all
of
its
locations
as
it
pivoted
into
software.
Ghost
kitchens,
which
are
also
known
as
cloud
or
dark
kitchens,
allow
restaurants
to
prepare
food
solely
for
delivery. 

The
format’s
popularity
soared
during
the
pandemic
as
eateries
looked
for
ways
to
make
food
delivery
more
profitable.
But
once
customers
started
returning
to
dining
in
person
and
capital
grew
more
expensive,
many
ghost
kitchen
startups
like
Kitchen
United
found
themselves
in
trouble.

In
March,
SBE
founder
Sam
Nazarian
bought
Kitchen
United’s
remaining
locations
and
intellectual
property
for
an
undisclosed
sum
to
create
a
new
company,
Everybody
Eats.