Steve Ells

Chipotle is now pouring premium Patron margaritas

Drinking your lunch got easier at Chipotle yesterday, when the homegrown Colorado chain introduced premium Patrón margaritas in all 900 of its U.S. restaurants (out of 1,450 Chipotle locations total). Although margaritas were on the menu before this, they were made with a standard mix, and Mark Cru ... More >>

Denver's five best homegrown, fast-casual chains -- from Noodles to Chipotle

Fast-casual restaurants are taking over the world, one burrito, burger and bowl of pasta at a time, offering customers the convenience of quick-service joints and some of the atmosphere and ingredient quality of sit-down places. And given Colorado's casual lifestyle and entrepreneurial spirit, it's ... More >>

Julie Andrews will bring the hills of Boulder alive as CU commencement speaker

In recent years, commencement speakers for the University of Colorado at Boulder have either been controversial or underwhelming to the vast majority of the student body. But neither of these issues are likely to plague the 2013 graduation ceremony, scheduled for May 10, since the speaker chosen -- ... More >>

Steve Ells first brought Chipotle to Denver, now the Cultivate Festival

Chipotle Mexican Grill got its start in Denver, in an old Dolly Madison by the University of Denver, where Steve Ells opened his first store in 1993. Originally, the culinary grad thought that store would be the way he financed a fine-dining restaurant. Instead, Ells says, "I guess I found my callin ... More >>

BevBuckle inventor could swim with the fishes on Shark Tank tonight

Not all brainstorms are as mind-blowing as Chipotle, the fast-casual chain that Steve Ells founded in Colorado two decades ago. Some brainstorms are really more of a trickle. Brainstorms like the BevBuckle, which will land a local inventor on the season premiere of ABC's Shark Tank tonight.

Chiptole's Steve Ells named "America's Most Inspiring CEO " by Esquire

Steve Ells was looking for a fast way to make money when he took $85,000 from his father and plunked it into an old Dolly Madison ice cream store near DU, where he served a hip variation on the big burritos he'd seen at taquerias in San Francisco. And the rest is history -- except that the future f ... More >>

Round two with Pete Marczyk, chef-owner of Marczyk Fine Foods

Pete Marczyk Marczyk Fine Foods 770 East 17th Avenue, 303-894-9499 5100 East Colfax Avenue, 303-243-3355 www.marczykfinefoods.com This is part two of my interview with Pete Marczyk; read part one of Pete Marczyk's interview Rules of conduct in your kitchen: Show up; try hard; think; keep making it ... More >>

Chipotle or Qdoba? Either way, burritos legally stand on their own

Also read: Why Denver is home to the best Mexican dish in the United States

Readers: Meatball concept proves what goes 'round comes 'round

Balls! Yesterday Lori Midson revealed that Jensen Cummings, the executive chef of Row 14 Bistro & Wine Bar, will be launching a new venture devoted to meatballs -- yes, meatballs -- with two partners, probably in the University of Denver area. "I'm not leaving Row 14, but I am opening a new, fast- ... More >>

Lessons from the Spicy Pickle and other Colorado-based chains

A former location of the Spicy Pickle.​Ask Kevin Morrison why the Spicy Pickle chain went belly up, and the former executive of that company, who now owns Pinche Tacos, doesn't exactly mince words. "When you have people who aren't businesspeople or restaurant people trying to run a restaurant ... More >>

Will ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen repeat Chipotle's feat?

Just a month ago Jonathan Gold -- Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at Westword's sister paper, LA Weekly -- heaped praise on Steve Ells, founder and CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the company that got its start at a burrito shop on East Evans Avenue and exploded into a giant international company. Gol ... More >>

Reader: Naming the best Chipotle is an intriguing idea

Where it all began....​What's your favorite Chipotle? The food at each one tastes different, founder Steve Ells revealed in his recent interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold, because employees at Chipotle actually cook. "When our employees walk in in the morning, they see ... More >>

Jonathan Gold weighs in on Chipotle founder Steve Ells

ChipotleJonathan Gold calls Steve Ells the most innovative man in food​"The most innovative man in the world of food at the moment is Chipotle founder Steve Ells," writes Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic at Westword's sister paper, LA Weekly, in a profile of the CEO that r ... More >>

Chipotle treats family-farm trick-or-treaters with a Boorito tonight

​From 6 p.m. six until closing tonight, all locations of Chipotle -- the homegrown big-burrito chain that Steve Ells started in Denver almost twenty years ago -- will be offering a real treat to anyone in a costume inspired by the family farm. Dress like Old McDonald or a Niman Ranch hog, and ... More >>

Reader: ShopHouse might inspire you to shop for some Chipotle stock

​Did you miss the chance to get in on the ground floor of Chipotle, back when Steve Ells opened his first fast-casual burrito shop on East Evans Avenue? You've got another chance with ShopHouse, the Asian fast-casual concept that Chipotle rolled out last Thursday in Washington, D.C. Here's t ... More >>

Chipotle's second concept, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, opens in DC

​Earlier this week, Fortune named Chipotle one of the country's fastest growing companies, noting that the Denver-based burrito chain, which raked in $2 billion in revenue between June of last year and June of this year, grew 23 percent in the process. Not bad, considering it's fast food (okay ... More >>

America's Next Great Restaurant winner Jamawn Woods blames Chipotle for Soul Daddy's failure

NBC​ Just over a month ago, Jamawn Woods shuttered the last of his three Soul Daddy locations. That was the fast-casual chain he was trying to get going with the help of Chipotle CEO Steve Ells, Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Lorena Garcia after that team of investors awarded him the grand prize ... More >>

Reader: No surprise that fast-casual concept Soul Daddy was a fast casualty

​The news that Soul Daddy, the winner of America's Next Great Restaurant, had closed its last outpost -- despite Chipotle's Steve Ells serving as one of the show's judges -- didn't surprise readers. Says aceranchero: I watched the series finale, when they announced the winner I turned to m ... More >>

Soul Daddy, America's Next Great Restaurant winner, shutters final location

NBC via Eater​Even the blessing of Steve Ells, CEO of homegrown, fast-casual mega-chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, wasn't enough to make America's Next Great Restaurant into, well, America's next great restaurant: Soul Daddy, the healthy barbecue concept that nabbed the reality show's grand prize ... More >>

Soul Daddy, America's Next Great Restaurant winner, closes NYC and Los Angeles locations

NBC via Eater​If you were hoping America's Next Great Restaurant winner, Soul Daddy, would eventually start hawking its healthy soul food in Denver, don't hold your breath. Despite the credentials of the panel of investors -- Steve Ells, Chipotle's founder and CEO, Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone a ... More >>

Reader: Steve Ells goes for soul over cheese

​Steve Ells, founder of the homegrown Chipotle chain, will have a starring role as the University of Colorado commencement speaker on Friday -- just five days after he wrapped up his gig on America's Next Great Restaurant. In the last episode of that series, Ells and his fellow judges chose S ... More >>

What will Steve Ells invest in next? Soul Daddy

​Amid making plans for ShopHouse, a new fast-casual Asian concept, and running the ever-expanding Denver-based Chipotle empire, Steve Ells has also been busy picking another restaurant concept in which to invest, working alongside Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Lorena Garcia to grant a would-be ... More >>

America's Next Great Restaurant contestant Eric Powell has a Colorado-based back-up plan

Eric Powell has a Denver-based back-up plan.​Last night on America's Next Great Restaurant

What will Steve Ells invest in next? America's Next Great Restaurant premiere serves up ten possibilities

​2011 promises to be a big year for hometown restaurateur Steve Ells. While his Denver-based Chipotle keeps expanding, Ells also has a new fast-casual Asian concept (possibly called ShopHouse) in the works, which is opening somewhere in the states -- most likely in Washington, DC. And come M ... More >>

Duo and Olivéa pastry chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom tapped to bake at the James Beard Foundation awards gala

​The James Beard Foundation awards gala, a glitzy, high-falutin' soiree that honors the best chefs, pastry kings and queens, restaurateurs, restaurants and wine directors in the country, takes place on May 9, 2011, at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York. And the culinary blowout ... More >>

Watch a Facebook ad for America's Next Great Restaurant, get free Chipotle

​Here's a quick way to earn free food: watch a 90 second ad for NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant on Facebook, and get a coupon for a buy-one-get-one burrito at Chipotle.

James Beard Foundation announces 2011 semi-finalists: Frank Bonanno, Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Frasca and ChoLon among them

James Beard Foundation​Last November, the James Beard Foundation summoned the public to nominate its favorite chefs, restaurants and industry professionals for the 2011 awards. And after all the self-pimping and ballot-stuffing, the poll is closed. This morning, the foundation announced its ... More >>

Chipotle registers brand name ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen

Steve Ells​When news broke late last year that Chipotle's Steve Ells was drawing up plans for an Asian fast-casual concept, the company refused to divulge much. "We want to leave a little mystery," Chris Arnold, director of public relations for the company, explained. But word's starting to l ... More >>

Laura Shunk's story begins with Chipotle Mexican Grill

Will the real Laura Shunk please stand up?​Early this month, Jason Sheehan gave Chipotle Mexican Grill a glowing review in the Seattle Weekly, our partner publication where he now works -- and where the haters haven't stopped rolling their eyes and asking why he'd bother writing about such a u ... More >>

Chipotle to roll out an Asian fast-casual restaurant

Chipotle's Steve Ells will roll out a fast casual Asian restaurant next year​When Steve Ells opened the very first Chipotle Mexican Grill at 1644 East Evans Avenue seventeen years ago, he didn't anticipate it growing into a massive burrito-hawking chain, one that would infiltrate every city in ... More >>

Chipotle Mexican Grill opens 1,000th restaurant

​Chipotle Mexican Grill, the big-ass burrito-monger that started in a tiny renovated ice cream shop at 1644 East Evans in 1993 has reached a couple of milestones recently. The first European Chipotle started hawking the goods to Londoners in May, and yesterday, the chain opened its 1,000th ... More >>

The week in Cafe Society bloggery: PETA, the Avenue Grill's Andrew Lubatty, MEAT, picnic packing and Chiptole's Steve Ells's new TV gig

​Our favorite tables scraps of the week from the Cafe Society blog: 1. The fact that Coors Field made Peta's list of the country's most vegetarian-friendly ballparks, coming in at number five on their annual list, made the rest of us darksiders swear to eat steaks, cheeseburgers, bratwursts a ... More >>

Chipotle's Steve Ells judging America's Next Great Restaurant

James GladerSteve Ells in his original restaurant.​First came an appearance on Oprah. Now Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, is a panelist on America's Next Great Restaurant, joining chefs Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone (The Biggest Loser) and Lorena Garcia. They'll be the judges as potential restaura ... More >>

Chipotle's Steve Ells on Oprah today

The original Chipotle,now a fast-food shrine.​From the moment it opened at 1644 East Evans Avenue, close by the University of Denver, Chipotle Mexican Grill a hip storefront joint that served giant burritos, was a giant hit. Three years later, the homegrown chain had three Denver locations -- ... More >>

Free food! For Kids! At Chipotle! Every Sunday through January!

​As part of its ongoing menu-expansion test in Colorado, all area Chipotle Mexican Grill locations will be giving away free kid's meals on the remaining Sundays in January -- January 10, 17, 24 and 31 -- when parents fork over the dough for a burrito, burrito bowl or full-size salad. "Our k ... More >>

Ask the Critic: Worst. Idea. Ever.

photo courtesy of seriouseats.com​Want to know why food is a great beat? Because there's always someone out there who's gonna think of jamming a full serving of pasta primavera into a waffle cone and selling it on the street (as pictured above). Usually, these people are going to be coming f ... More >>

La Torta is the king of tortas

The List: Six fast-casual concepts that work

After my disastrous meals at Beaucoup Burrito, I thought it might be helpful to list for its owners, employees and customers six local fast-casual concepts that actually work.  They are, in no particular order: Chipotle: Founder Steve Ells gets credit for inventing the entire fast-casual concep ... More >>

How Steve Ells wrapped up the fast-casual niche

Chipotle needs a new ad man? How about Adam Cayton-Holland?

Denver Post Links Bicycles, Chipotle Burritos and Gas

What's in Your IPO?

The bean counters vs. the Chipotlemat.

Bite Me

Quagmire

Letters to the Editor

From the week of June 24, 2004

Chair of Chipotle

Bruce Gueswel is having an art attack.

Best Burrito

Chipotle

Bite Me

Trading Spaces

The Bite

Steak Out

Mouthing Off