{"id":3508,"date":"2026-07-15T20:44:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3508"},"modified":"2026-07-15T20:44:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:44:51","slug":"chipotle-is-trying-to-take-over-mexico-through-its-softest-border-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3508","title":{"rendered":"Chipotle is trying to take over Mexico through its softest border town"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The California-based restaurant giant announced its first location in part of the Monterrey metropolitan area will open on Thursday in partnership with Alsea, a leading restaurant operator in Latin America and Europe, to bring its customizable burrito bowls, tacos and quesadillas south of the border, with plans to open more restaurants in Mexico City in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3506\">\u2018I\u2019m his lawyer\u2019 \u2014\u00a0acting Attorney General briefly forgets he\u2019s supposed to represent Americans<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur research has reinforced our belief that there is strong interest in high-quality, freshly prepared food served with the customization and convenience that Chipotle offers,\u201d Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said in the press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The chain has traveled a long way from its original Denver home, but its latest move is more delicate: bringing burritos and bowls to Mexico, where the company will find out whether a restaurant built on Mexican-inspired ingredients can sell its version of fast casual in the country that gave those ingredients much of their cultural weight.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a parallel of sorts to Domino\u2019s Pizza, which tried to sell Americanized pizza in Italy only to close all\u00a029 of its locations there in seven years, and to Taco Bell, which failed to appeal to Mexican consumers twice. Both chains suffered from serving food that appeared both inauthentic and unappetizing, unable to compete with local offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIts existence is an affront to Italian culture, bastardizing pizza beyond belief,\u201d Jeffrey Pilcher, a University of Toronto professor specializing in global food history, told <em>Fortune<\/em> about Domino\u2019s. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s quite the same thing as Chipotle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chipotle said its approach will respect Mexico\u2019s culinary heritage and provide the same signature menu prepared fresh throughout the day as it would in the United States. This direction seems to avoid some of Taco Bell\u2019s pitfalls. Pilcher, who also wrote a book on Mexico\u2019s food history, explained that Taco Bell failed in Mexico because it didn\u2019t serve the same U.S.-style Taco Bell menu the small slice of middle-class Mexicans who visited the U.S. would be familiar with, and also didn\u2019t serve recognizably Mexican food.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt was kind of a joke anyway,\u201d Pilcher told <em>Fortune<\/em> about Taco Bell\u2019s foray.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also noted Chipotle\u2019s expansion could pan out more successfully because the Monterrey area is more receptive to Americanized food than other parts of the country because of its familiarity to the U.S. and a sizable population of American telecommuters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3504\">Scott Bessent says $1 coin with Trump\u2019s face on it will \u2018honor the enduring legacy of liberty\u2019 with a \u2018lasting symbol of patriotism\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI think that the more Cal-Mex sort of burrito might play better in Monterrey than it would even in Mexico City,\u201d Pilcher told <em>Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But even in Monterrey, where most people travel back and forth from Mexico to the U.S. for shopping and groceries and are more in touch with American restaurants than their peers in other parts of Mexico, it will still be an \u201cuphill climb\u201d for Chipotle, according to Bchara Z\u00fa\u00f1iga, who advises foodservice and retail executives in the Americas for GlobalData.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhat makes Chipotle unique in the U.S. will not be as unique in a market that\u2019s already full of fresh produce and similar ingredients,\u201d Z\u00fa\u00f1iga told <em>Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIt is true the Monterrey consumer is a little bit more open to that type of format, but I think that\u2019s going to be the main challenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He said Chipotle will face stiff competition from Mexico\u2019s 80% independent restaurant sector, which is popular and also boasts fresh ingredients, but that the partnership with Alsea was \u201cvery smart\u201d because of its track record with expanding international brands like Starbucks and Burger King, and that the company\u2019s approach \u2013 being inspired by Mexican cuisine rather than trying to repackage it \u2013 sets it apart from Taco Bell and Domino\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Mexicans will feel as threatened with the idea as they did with Taco Bell or Italians with Domino\u2019s,\u201d\u00a0 Z\u00fa\u00f1iga said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3502\">Pete Hegseth wants to test troops for \u2018testosterone deficiency\u2019 \u2014\u00a0literally<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chipotle did not respond to <em>Fortune<\/em>\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dominos was \u201can affront to Italian culture, bastardizing pizza beyond belief,\u201d Jeffrey Pilcher told Fortune about Domino\u2019s, but not Chipotle in Mexico. \u201cI don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s quite the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurants"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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