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Chipotle’s Chief Says the Online Boom Will Outlast the Pandemic

CEO Brian Niccol wants to protect employees, but won’t require them to get vaccinated.

Brian Niccol, chief executive officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill. — Brian Niccol, chief executive officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Photographer: Bobby Doherty for Bloomberg Businessweek

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By Carol A Massar

September 16, 2020 at 10:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the September 21, 2020 issue of businessweek.

As the pandemic made people hesitant or unable to eat inside its restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. saw its online orders and delivery business take off. CEO Niccol thinks much of that digital business is here to stay.

We’ve been very fortunate in our restaurants, where I think we’re doing a lot of the right things. We put a lot of the right food safety practices and wellness practices in place. So that’s giving people confidence to basically use Chipotle as a meal solution. And our digital business is giving people access for that off-premise occasion that has become really critical.