Chipotle Stores Will Close Feb. 8 For Company-Wide Meeting

Chipotle – a company that prides itself on serving fresh food that does not contain genetically modified organisms – faces a federal criminal investigation and a lawsuit from shareholders after the recent salmonella, norovirus, and E.coli outbreaks.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. will close its doors to customers for a few hours in order to brief employees, discuss food safety and allow employees to ask questions, theLos Angeles Times reports.

The delayed openings next month are so employees can take part in a team meeting to discuss changes the company is making to tighten its food-safety measures.

A customer service coordinator from Chipotle told Eagle News in an email that all Chipotle restaurants will be closed for lunch and re-opened at 3 p.m.in each time zone for the meeting. It sickened five people in the Seattle area with E. coli O157:H7 during July.

That same month about 100 people in southern California fell ill from the norovirus. Chipotle stock is down more than a third since the outbreaks. This meeting will include all of Chipotle’s staff at its more than 1,900 locations, said Danielle Moore, public relations and communications manager for Chipotle, per NBC News.

“We’re going to let all of our folks know about how this happened, and, in detail, all the steps that we’re taking to ensure that it won’t happen again”. “As a result, we are committed to becoming known as the leader in food safety, just as we are known for using the very best ingredients in a fast food setting”. Soon thereafter, Chipotle will begin an intensive campaign focused on assuring news outlets that the food outbreaks are over and reminding consumers how great the food tastes, according to Food Safety News.

The outbreaks caused significant financial damage to the company as well, with a 30 percent drop in same-store sales in December, according to a company memo.