I remember when Chipotle was still a Colorado-only thing. Better than Subway or Quiznos and the price was right. You could get in, get lunch, and get out relatively quickly.
I don’t know that things went pear-shaped the very instant they started their massive expansion everywhere, but it’s been different for quite a long time. Like a lot of brands, I’m sure they sputtered along on their reputation mostly and the place made money even if consumers started to get disillusioned.
Used to be that Qdoba and Chipotle seemed to be pretty decent options, but I’m always kind of disappointed in both these days. Qdoba offered Impossible Meat as an option for a while, but seemingly no longer does…
Qdoba by me is one of the few that does breakfast. $5-7 for a breakfast bowl/burrito, and it’s Qdoba so you get all the queso, salsa, guacamole, cheese, etc toppings for free.
I distinctly remember when Qdoba started phasing out the Impossible. My local one held onto it a bit longer and was one of the later locations to lose it.
I like Impossible, but it’s a hard sell for many because it was the most expensive of the regular protein options. I say “regular” because they sometimes had limited-time specials that were more expensive. Chipotle took a better path with the sofritas because it is its own thing rather than a fake meat, and it is the lowest tier of pricing. From my own observation, it is at least somewhat popular with meat-eaters, but only a vegetarian/vegan is likely to get Impossible due to the higher price.
I think it’s just a classic case of profit maximization. Chipotle felt pressure from shareholders to continue increasing profit every quarter, and that inherently involves cutting costs and increasing prices
Yeah, it’s pretty annoying - publicly traded companies must constantly be growing. Something like a restaurant cannot just be successful in making a mere profit, oh no, it has to be compared to last quarter/last year…even if it means endangering everything that made the restaurant successful in the first place…
When was Qdoba ever a decent option? Their best has always been “disappointing” for me.
I am not being snarky, I just don’t ever remember them being good.
As for Chipotle, I don’t go there very often but even the last time I was in and saw chicken going on the grill and they said fresh avocados are used every morning to make the guacamole, that was how I remembered them. And how I always figured the differentiation was: Chipotle made their food, but Qdoba was just put together Sisco truck food.
Yup. And in more recent times, they had Impossible Meat options for a while. Then they stopped. Now, as a vegetarian, I feel like I’m getting ripped off, especially if I place an online order…quite a lot for essentially rice and beans.
I eventually learned how to eat clean, now my digestive system has been calm & happy for years. My rule of thumb is no restaurants. Ever. Control every ingredient that goes into my mouth.
I remember when Chipotle was still a Colorado-only thing. Better than Subway or Quiznos and the price was right. You could get in, get lunch, and get out relatively quickly.
I don’t know that things went pear-shaped the very instant they started their massive expansion everywhere, but it’s been different for quite a long time. Like a lot of brands, I’m sure they sputtered along on their reputation mostly and the place made money even if consumers started to get disillusioned.
Used to be that Qdoba and Chipotle seemed to be pretty decent options, but I’m always kind of disappointed in both these days. Qdoba offered Impossible Meat as an option for a while, but seemingly no longer does…
Qdoba by me is one of the few that does breakfast. $5-7 for a breakfast bowl/burrito, and it’s Qdoba so you get all the queso, salsa, guacamole, cheese, etc toppings for free.
I distinctly remember when Qdoba started phasing out the Impossible. My local one held onto it a bit longer and was one of the later locations to lose it.
I like Impossible, but it’s a hard sell for many because it was the most expensive of the regular protein options. I say “regular” because they sometimes had limited-time specials that were more expensive. Chipotle took a better path with the sofritas because it is its own thing rather than a fake meat, and it is the lowest tier of pricing. From my own observation, it is at least somewhat popular with meat-eaters, but only a vegetarian/vegan is likely to get Impossible due to the higher price.
Is Chipotle still doing the sofritas?
Yes
I think it’s just a classic case of profit maximization. Chipotle felt pressure from shareholders to continue increasing profit every quarter, and that inherently involves cutting costs and increasing prices
Yeah, it’s pretty annoying - publicly traded companies must constantly be growing. Something like a restaurant cannot just be successful in making a mere profit, oh no, it has to be compared to last quarter/last year…even if it means endangering everything that made the restaurant successful in the first place…
Yes I literally remember when a meatless chipotle bowl was only $6.45.
I’m pretty sure I haven’t eaten there since those good old days.
When was Qdoba ever a decent option? Their best has always been “disappointing” for me.
I am not being snarky, I just don’t ever remember them being good.
As for Chipotle, I don’t go there very often but even the last time I was in and saw chicken going on the grill and they said fresh avocados are used every morning to make the guacamole, that was how I remembered them. And how I always figured the differentiation was: Chipotle made their food, but Qdoba was just put together Sisco truck food.
Qdoba was pretty good in the early to mid 00’s.
Yup. And in more recent times, they had Impossible Meat options for a while. Then they stopped. Now, as a vegetarian, I feel like I’m getting ripped off, especially if I place an online order…quite a lot for essentially rice and beans.
I ate at Qdoba once. It made my butt explode.
Quiznos had the same effect.
I eventually learned how to eat clean, now my digestive system has been calm & happy for years. My rule of thumb is no restaurants. Ever. Control every ingredient that goes into my mouth.
seems like your sensitive to beans and rice, i almost never get that reaction. the fiber helps bowel movement though from the beans.
Haha. Yeah, if you have a sensitive system, it’s hard to have much control over anything if you eat at a restaurant.
When I first started going (maybe late 90s, early 00s) they had more salsa options, which I was keen on.
IIRC, their hottest was at least hotter than Chipotle, even if neither really dialed up the spice all that much.