According to an Associated Press article featured on Forbes.com “Chipolte Mexican Grill” is in big trouble. A financial analyst at Jefferies & Co had these comments:

The company is also dealing with lower productivity at newer stores and may have trouble raising prices, said analyst Jeff Farmer.

Chipolte, like many restaurants, has struggled during the recession as customers have decided to eat at home more regularly in an attempt to save money.

Chipolte, which serves up tacos, burritos and salads, may have to wait a while for customer traffic to pick up, as the restaurant sector traditionally can stay on the decline “for years - not quarters” after posting a drop-off for two quarters.

In a move that probably only makes sense to financial analysts:

He cut his rating on Chipolte to “Underperform” from “Hold,” but raised his price target on the stock to $62 from $45 due to its conservative margin outlook, better-than-expected profit flow and lower-than-expected commodity costs.

So, at the same time that the stock won’t do well he increased his estimated value for the stock by 50%. Hmmmmmmm.

Chipolte in trouble - what about Chipotle?

This is a narrow miss for the ChipoTLe Mexican Grill, which I love, that a company called ChipoLTe is going to have financial problems.

Good thing we have high quality news organizations like Forbes and the Associated Press to give us accurate news without mistakes. What will happen to the world if news organizations keep failing and we have to get our news from unregulated and inaccurate blogs?

i got a delicious bol after spending a few days in upstate new york where chipotle is few and far between. also, the door on the way back from the bathroom changed again and now just says “hip”

I love it.

so, first it was chipolte and then it was chipote but now the sign just says hip. craziness. one of these days they’re going to have to get a new sign.

The World Dairy Diary tipped me off to a Drovers Alert which has this warning:

Food with integrity?
Chipotle Mexican Grille says the company’s philosophy is “food with integrity.” Famous for its large burritos made with all natural ingredients, the company’s promotions include billboards with unique, funny and often zany messages. But the most recent billboard campaign is seen by many as “over the top.” Chipotle’s newest billboards ask: “Did you want antibiotics with your lunch? We didn’t think so.”

i went to the bathroom in this store today and noticed a change on the sign. it used to read chipotle (my picture of the sign from January). since then someone has edited it to read “chipote” (by removing the l):

i’m not sure which is worse - the inappropriate use of the word chipolte or removing the l (which gets it kinda closer to the right spelling) but which leaves it as a word with an empty space.

chipolte? chipo te?

i don’t really want them to fix it at this point because the incorrect sign is somewhat of a funny mistake to me now.

here’s a more blurry photo, but it shows the handle on the door…

it used to read chipolte

this is probably the better photo of the two i took today.

it used to read chipolte.