Popular Mexican chain reveals surprising growth plans | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Restaurants have faced a particular set of headwinds in the years since the pandemic.

Covid brought widespread shutdowns, social distancing (remember that?) that forced them to operate at limited capacity, and a sharp drop in foot traffic.

Plenty of independent restaurants didn’t survive, and even large chains were hit hard when indoor dining disappeared.

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Between higher prices for everything from labor to real estate to transportation and supply costs, it’s hard to succeed in the restaurant business, even in the best of times.

Brands that embraced technology like mobile ordering, including Panera and Chick-fil-A, have fared better than most over the last couple of years.

Some chains managed to adapt and emerge even stronger, and few have done it better than Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) .

Chipotle Mexican Grill has plans for international expansion.

Image source&colon; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Chipotle is known for fresh ingredients, customization and speed

Chipotle has carved out a unique place in the fast-casual space by offering high-quality ingredients — e.g., fresh avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, cauliflower rice, and house-made salsa — with seemingly endless customization options.

You can even order keto, vegetarian, and gluten-free meals, with no fuss. It’s not exactly typical fast-food fare.

So why is Chipotle so popular? In the years since the pandemic, Chipotle has doubled down on its technology, including making investments in its digital ordering platform, its delivery partnerships, its loyalty program, and by adding “Chipotlanes” to more locations.

Chipotlanes are the convenient drive-thru lanes for mobile orders; according to Restaurant Dive, restaurants with Chipotlanes have around 15% higher sales than those without them.

Chipotle says 80% of the restaurants it will open in 2025 will feature Chipotlanes, according to USA Today.

Chipotle’s international expansion plans include hundreds of new locations in 2025

Just as they are in the U.S., customers around the world are in search of healthy, customizable fast-food options.

The company revealed it will open between 315 and 345 restaurants in 2025, in Canada, the UK, and Europe. As many as 20 of the new restaurants will be in Canada.

So far this year, Chipotle has opened in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennesssee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Only Alaska and Hawaii are Chipot-less.

In a bold move, Chipotle will also make its debut in Mexico early next year.

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At the company’s most recent earnings call in February, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said the company’s 2024 total revenue was $11.3 billion, an increase of 14.6% from 2023.

“I want to make sure that as we continue to scale Chipotle, everything we do is in service of our guests or those who serve our guests which will enable us to achieve our long-term ambitious goals of reaching 7,000 restaurants in North America, growing our AUVs beyond $4 million, expanding margins and making progress toward becoming a global iconic brand.”