Chipotle Eats Itself

Fast Company’s most extensive article in eight years, informed by hundreds of hours of interviews from inside and around the company, thousands of pages of documents that were leaked to us, on-site reporting from farms to industrial kitchens, and revealing discussions with Steve Ells, his co-CEO Monty Moran, and other top Chipotle leaders. It is an eye-opening, entertaining, and unvarnished look at a company and team that seemingly could do no wrong—until suddenly they could do no right. What this piece illuminates is the fragility of success in the modern economy and just how vigilant companies need to be, even if their heart is in the right place and their business model is enviably efficient.