Chipotle opens its first-ever burger joint, and it’s in Ohio

Chipotle’s first burger store opened yesterday, Oct. 27, in Lancaster, Ohio, 30 miles southeast of Columbus.

Chipotle says its “Tasty Made” burger restaurant serves grilled-to-order burgers that are made from fresh beef from animals raised without antibiotics or added hormones. Tasty Made’s menu is rather limited — or streamlined, depending on the point of view. It serves only burgers, fries, milkshakes and sodas.

Denver-based Chipotle says Tasty Made’s prices will be similar to those of fast-food competitors, according to the Associated Press.

Chipotle has been trying to recover from an E. coli outbreak and norovirus cases that sent sales plunging starting last fall.

The opening comes a few months after Chipotle confirmed rumors that it was converting an old storefront in a small strip shopping center in the Fairfield County seat into its latest attempt to grow beyond its ubiquitous burrito stores, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

“Lancaster is the ideal market for this, because the people here really appreciate an excellent burger served at a reasonable price,” Dave Chrisman, the Chipotle executive in charge of the Tasty Made concept, said in a press release.

“I ought to know, because I grew up just miles from here. And the warm welcome from our community has been great. They are very excited that the first Tasty Made is in their town.”

Chiptotle is also dabbling in other restaurant themes that it calls “seed concepts,” including fast-casual “Pizzeria Locale” and “ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen.”

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