Chipotle to close all restaurants for a few hours on February 8

MIAMI, FL – APRIL 27: Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers on the day that the company announced it will only use non-GMO ingredients in its food on April 27, 2015 in Miami, Florida. One of the norovirus outbreaks is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

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. Chipotle’s December sales were down 30 percent, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

After receiving a significant hit to its image, Chipotle will not start to push for marketing schemes to win back its customers who have been wary of eating at the Chipotle outlets lately. More than nine lawsuits have been filed, which include one for a web developer in Lake Oswego, Chris Collins.

Poor Chipotle. It hasn’t exactly been the easiest time for the food chain. This is another positive day of trading for the burrito company this week, building upon the success of this past Wednesday when CMG stocks were up over 5%.

Chipotle CEO Steve Ells said earlier this week he was “hopeful” the Centers for Disease Control would soon declare the outbreaks were over. Then, in what Chipotle says was an unrelated case, a norovirus sickened dozens at a Chipotle in Boston. “Additionally, we are rolling out new sanitation procedures in our restaurants and implementing additional food safety training for all of our restaurant employees”. They said food safety will not be explicitly referenced in the marketing, but that there might be a “clever headline”.

Before the outbreaks, Chipotle had cultivated a loyal following with its adoption of non-GMO standards and other health conscious initiatives.

In October, the company launched an “enhanced food safety program” that involved a “comprehensive reassessment” of its practices and its ingredients, The Hill reported.