Chipotles Nationwide Will Take Break For All-Hands Meeting On E. Coli Outbreak
By Mae Rice in Food on Jan 15, 2016 5:42PM
Today in burrito news that’s even less sexy than normal burrito news: On Friday, Feb. 8, Chicago-based burrito chain Chipotle will close all 19,000 of its locations for a few hours for a meeting about food safety.
“Chipotle said the meeting would provide an opportunity to thank employees, discuss changes and answer questions,” according to CNN.
Since August, Chipotle meals have caused outbreaks of three diseases—E. coli, salmonella, and norovirus. The best-known outbreak was the nationwide E. coli one, linked to more than 50 cases around the country and at least one in Illinois.
Chipotle’s stock has fallen due to the disease outbreaks. CNN estimates the company's stock price is down about 42 percent from the height of its popularity. The company is also projected to announce unusually low quarterly earnings to investors on Feb. 2.
However, Chipotle has a plan to bounce back with a new, alluring marketing campaign, using a mix of direct mail, TV ads, and newspaper ads, as CNN previously reported.