By
Michelle McCollum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Chipotle offers inexpensive burritos, margaritas
On March 12, Chipotle, a Mexican restaurant specializing in gourmet burritos, made its debut on East University Boulevard.
Now, more than a week later, the modern cantina designed with an industrial motif boasts of its success.
Restaurant manager Ray Garcia said there was a line of customers around the block for Monday's free-burrito give-away.
"We ran out of food at 9 p.m. which is an hour before we close," he said.
About 145 people can fit comfortably in the restaurant at a time, and the quick-serve, "Subway-like" setting gets patrons through the line in less than eight minutes, Garcia said.
Garcia, a two-year Chipotle chain veteran, said that the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the restaurant, and the friendliness of the employees is what draws customers to the gourmet Mexican restaurant.
Assistant manager Karla Kramer agreed.
"There are no cans (of food). There's a grill, a stove, and a ricecooker, " she said.
The store's specialty is the barbacoa, a shredded beef burrito with fresh vegetables, authentic spices, and Chipotle's cilantro-lime rice, which can be found in no other restaurant in Tucson.
Garcia said other notable delicacies include the fresh guacamole, and "fire extinguishers," which are strong margaritas served on the rocks with no salt.
Chipotle was born in Denver by Steve Ellis, a "five-star" cook who in 1993 decided to start his own business, Garcia said.
Ellis named the restaurant after the chipotle, defined on the menu as "a fully ripened and smoked jalape–o pepper."
Joe Dalrymple, a graphic design freshman, stopped into the restaurant with a friend out of curiosity.
"We came by just hoping it was good," he said.
While the restaurant is labeled "gourmet," the menu features student-friendly prices. Burritos up to 23 ounces are less than $5, chips and salsa go for $.95, and margaritas sell for $2.25.
Both Garcia and Kramer said that the secret to Chipotle's success was "the power of the secret."
"We let the customer find out for themselves that this is the best," Kramer said.
"We know how good we are, but we want (other) people to find out too." Garcia added.
Chipotle is located at 905 E. University Blvd., and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except for holidays.
