Chipotle To End Its Build-Your-Own Pizza Test In Colorado, Stock Trades Lower But Still Near 52-Week High

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG announced it will be closing all five of its Pizzeria Locale restaurants in Colorado, which it had been operating since 2013. The restaurants offered customers a Chipotle-like experience, selecting which toppings and items they wanted on their pizzas. 

Other companies, such as MOD Pizza and Blaze Pizza, have similar models to Chiptole, in which you can select what you want at the counter and customize it with a seemingly countless number of potential topping combinations.

The Pizzeria Locale restaurants apparently failed to gain traction in Denver, causing Chipotle to pull the plug on its test. The company did not explain the exact reasons behind closing the stores. 

Chipotle said that employees from the pizzeria locations will have the option to continue to work for the company at one of Denver’s Chipotle Mexican Grill locations. 

CMG Price Action: Chipotle’s stock traded lower Thursday, closing the day down 1.29% at $2,093.37, amid weakness in the overall market. Chipotle’s stock had been strong, trading right around its 52-week high of $2,147.52.

The company will report earnings after the close later this month on July 26. 

CAVA Group Inc CAVA a company with a similar model to Chipotle, but with Mediterranean food as opposed to Mexican, went public last month, quickly becoming one of the most high-profile IPOs of 2023 so far. The company is currently valued right around $4 billion, with many investors hoping it can see similar growth to Chipotle. 

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