Chipotle briefly closing in February to hold food-safety sessions

In his letter, Ells revealed the creation of a comprehensive food safety program that “dramatically reduces risk” on their farms, throughout the supply chain and in the restaurants.

Chipotle Mexican Grill will temporarily close all of its restaurants for several hours February 8 to discuss new changes in the company’s food safety procedures.

“We are hosting a national team meeting on Monday, Feb. 8 to thank our employees for their hard work through this difficult time, discuss some of the food safety changes we are implementing, and answer questions from employees”, the coordinator said. At least 53 people in nine states have been afflicted by an E. coli outbreak associated with the chain, according to reports.

The string of food scares has taken its toll on Chipotle’s bottom line. Restaurant sales were down 30% for the full month of December.

The company’s stock rose on Friday, after what has been a precipitous, months-long decline.

Chipotle announced at an ICR conference on Wednesday that it is planning a marketing campaign in February, including a direct mail push, to bring customers back to its restaurants.

The trouble began in August, when 64 customers in Minnesota were infected with salmonella and around 100 people were infected with the norovirus in California. Illnesses contracted at Chipotles were then reported in seven more states, including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Chipotle said it thinks the recent outbreaks will end up costing between $14 million and $16 million. Several cases of E. coli were traced to Chipotle burritos, forcing the closing of 40 stores in OR and Washington. The norovirus is a highly contagious virus that is spread most commonly through food.

The company is still waiting for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to declare the E. coli outbreak over, even though the CDC hasn’t identified which ingredient was to blame.