Chipotle Mexican Grill, a massive fast-food chain prides itself on offering customers clean, healthy, and efficient meals. The closest Chipolte to Cox High School is located about 10 minutes away at the Hilltop shopping center. It is a great stop if trying to eat healthy while in a time crunch.
Chipotle was founded by Steve Ellis in 1993 in Colorado. Many entrepreneurs run into a recurring problem of insufficient funds which sadly happened to Ellis. In order to open his dream fine dining restaurant he created Chipolte, but little did he know it would become a nationwide sensation. In 1998 McDonald’s Corporation became a major investor, and by 2006 there were over 500 locations.
The chain’s current hours of operation are 10:45 AM- 11:00 PM so it is more of a lunch and dinner time destination. There are currently 10 Chipolte’s within 30 minutes of Virginia Beach and they are rapidly finding new homes from coast to coast.
To have a quick and efficient food ordering process, it is like an assembly line where you pick what you want as you go through the line. Their two items are burritos and bowls that can come with an assortment of meats, vegetables, and toppings. An order can also come with chips and a drink, but it costs a little bit extra for the combo.
Their most popular items are chicken, beef, black beans, guacamole, queso, and corn. These are just a few of the delicious options that can go on your meal. The queso and guacamole can also be added as a dipping side for chips but come at an additional cost. The last part of their menu is their drinks where they have traditional fountain drinks, but also offer organic lemonades that are very thirst-quenching.
Juniors Blake Heselius and Max Palmerton thoroughly enjoyed the entire dining experience especially the outdoor eating area on a beautiful day in Virginia Beach. Heselius, an avid Chipotle connoisseur, helped Palmerton with the bowl and side tortilla “hack”. Both got chicken, rice, lettuce, queso, and corn on top of their bowls. Palmerton indulged in the organic Lemonade which he was very fond of. They both used half of their bowls and put it into the side tortilla to have a burrito while also having half of their bowls left which is a “Chipotle Hack” according to Heselius.
The outdoor dining experience definitely added to the entire process, but one negative was the cleanliness of the restaurant. Most of the tables had leftover food on them which was a bit of a turn-off. In addition, the staff is nice but they seemed to rush through the entire process a bit which neither Palmerton nor Heselius was fond of.
Overall, the quick healthy dining process was a positive experience as the food was given a very solid rating according to the two. Due to the mass of people and the speed of the entire process, they understood it can be hard to keep the restaurant clean at all times so that did not affect their rating of the restaurant. The pair definitely recommended for those who want a big meal in a timely manner.
