Chipotle to close all stores for 1 day

During the mini-blackout, the company will discuss food safety with all employees due to the E. coli outbreak the chain has been plagued with over the past few months.

“We have been sharing information with [employees] on a regular basis, but thought it would be great for them to hear directly from our leaders”, Chipotle comms director Chris Arnold told PRWeek via email, when asked why the chain chose to take this strategy.

“The closure is to give execs time to answer questions about the outbreak and to go over a new marketing plan to bring customers back”, E News reported.

Fox News reported that federal authorities subpoenaed Chipotle as part of a criminal investigation connected to another norovirus outbreak in California last summer.

This video includes images from Getty Images. The chain had expected comparable restaurant sales (those at restaurants which have been open for at least 13 months) to fall by as much as 11 percent for the quarter ending December 31, but revised the outlook, saying they are now slated to tumble by nearly 15 percent. In 2015, the stock dropped by 30 percent, according to Bloomberg. Several weeks later, norovirus sickened dozens at a Chipotle in Boston.

The popular Mexican fast food restaurant has stated that a companywide meeting has been set for February 8.

“The fact that anyone has become ill eating at Chipotle is completely unacceptable to me and I am deeply sorry”, founder and co-CEO Steve Ells said in a letter on the company’s website in December.

Since the outbreaks, Chipotle has hired a food safety expert, changed its food handling practices and now test produce before shipping it to stores. The third E. coli outbreak happened before the others and was not made public.

Shares of the E.coli and salmonella stricken Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG ) are trading up over 4.5% this afternoon.