Former Restaurateur 2 - quit. - Restaurateur + Chipotle Employee Review

2.0
Aug 10, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Food with Integrity is incredible and has truly sparked a food revolution. The job itself at any level is not difficult. I do not regret anything about my time here but I'm very glad I left when I did. The customers are upstanding citizens for the most part and the days go by very quickly. Salaried managers receive great benefits like stock options, company cars, and frequent paid business trips. Hourly level employees have a chance to make a career if they're willing to fully devote themselves to Chipotle.

Cons

Company is going downhill and fast. As a Restaurateur 2 (GM of my own restaurant while also mentoring a GM I developed), I was operating as a TL while my TL was on sabbatical with no extra pay. The company does not care about Restaurateur cultures or how restaurant level employees feel anymore and are only focus on micromanaging meticulous food safety practices that take away from the guest and crew experience. For some reason they're trying to double in size and open new restaurant concepts while also instructing their Restaurateurs to terminate solid veteran managers because they "haven't adapted quickly" to the companies new priorities. You will see a lot of illegal practices like Salaried Managers being told to make hourly employees work off the clock and edit time punches so nobody gets overtime, 80 hour work weeks for salaried managers because we're told not to fully staff our restaurants. The company was great and was focused on the right thing before the foodbourne illness outbreaks but now the company has changed for the worse. It will just be a regular fast food restaurant eventually because they will always prioritize strict constantly changing food procedures over taking care of employees.

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5.0
Jun 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good Coworkers Good Communication Free Food

Cons

Need to improve time management

2.0
Jul 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Somewhat easy to pick up short term work, and depending on the location co-workers can be cool. The free meals are also pretty good, and there is a significant employee discount usually.

Cons

Extremely inconsistent experience between stores. One store I worked at had a really chill manager, while other ones would have management that made the experience absolutely miserable. I had one store that "unofficially" hired me for 18 hours one week and then refused to pay me for those hours, so I guess make absolute sure that all of your hours are recorded in their system. Because portions aren't standardized very well, a significant amount of customers will be angry at you if you don't give enough food, or if you give too much food your manager will yell at you. The fact that the food is made in front of the customer leads to significantly more negative customer interactions. If you do work at a Chipotle, make absolute sure it is one that isn't very busy, as it can be the difference between a relatively chill job and a stressful nightmare.

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