DENVER -- Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said its stores will open several hours later than normal for one day next month so it can hold a meeting following a series of food safety scares. The quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain's sales have fallen since recent E. coli and norovirus outbreaks.
The Denver-based chain said all its stores will open at 3 p.m. local time on Feb. 8, according to an Associated Press report. Stores typically open at 11 a.m.
The delayed openings are so employees can take part in a team meeting to discuss changes the company is making to tighten its food safety measures.
Chipotle also said the company will thank employees for their work in recent weeks.
Chipotle plans to mount a multifaceted marketing campaign next month to win back consumers who abandoned the chain because of its food-safety problems, executives said at a financial conference last week, reported Restaurant Business.
In addition to direct mail pieces, newspaper ads and TV commercials intended to reassure the public the brand is safe again, the effort calls for doubling the amount of food that stores can give away to spur trial, the officials said.
Co-CEO Steve Ells said the communication will include a detailed account of what happened at the epicenters of the outbreaks. He commented at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Fla., that the assurances and recounts will be delivered with an undertone of humility.
The plan is predicated on getting word from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention that the chain’s food-safety problems are truly behind it. The chain is “extremely confident” that validation will come next week, executives revealed, noting that they met with CDC authorities last week.
Ells acknowledged during his presentation that lingering concerns will likely impact sales through 2016, while increased safety measures will affect margins.
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