Most people think the guy who started Chipotle was some business genius with a 50-page plan and a dream of becoming a fast-food billionaire. Honestly? Not even close. Steve Ells, the founder of Chipotle, didn't even want to run a burrito chain. He was a classically trained chef who just wanted to open a fancy, white-tablecloth restaurant.
It’s one of those weird accidents of history.
Ells graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1990 and ended up as a sous chef at Stars in San Francisco. He was working for Jeremiah Tower, one of the pioneers of California cuisine. While he was there, he’d watch people line up at local taquerias in the Mission District. He saw how fast they moved and how simple the food was. He did some quick math on a napkin and figured a burrito shop could be a "cash cow" to fund his real dream.
So, he moved to Denver, borrowed $85,000 from his dad, and opened the first Chipotle in 1993. It was a tiny, 850-square-foot space in a former ice cream shop. He figured he needed to sell about 107 burritos a day to break even. Within a month, he was selling over 1,000.
The Accidental Empire of Steve Ells
The "vibe" we know as Chipotle today—the sheet metal, the plywood, the industrial look—wasn't a branding masterstroke. It was because Ells was broke. He bought materials at a local hardware store because they were cheap. He used what he had.
What's kinda fascinating is that Ells felt guilty for the first couple of years. He felt like he was "selling out" by making burritos instead of duck confit. But then a food critic in Denver wrote a review that changed everything. The critic talked about the depth of flavor and the technique in a way people usually reserved for five-star dining. That’s when it clicked for Ells: he wasn’t just making fast food; he was using fine-dining standards for the masses.
The McDonald’s Years (And the Big Breakup)
You can't talk about the founder of Chipotle without mentioning the Golden Arches. In 1998, McDonald’s became a minority investor. By 2001, they were the majority owner. This is what allowed Chipotle to explode from 16 locations to over 500 in less than a decade.
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But it was a rocky marriage.
McDonald’s executives kept trying to "fix" Chipotle. They wanted drive-thrus. They wanted a breakfast menu. They even suggested Ells start using freezers and pre-made ingredients to save money. Ells basically told them no. He was obsessed with the "Food with Integrity" mission, which meant sourcing naturally raised meat and fresh produce—the exact opposite of the McDonald’s model. Eventually, McDonald’s spun off Chipotle in 2006. At the time, it was one of the most successful IPOs in history.
Where is the Founder of Chipotle Now?
Steve Ells is no longer at the helm. After a series of high-profile food safety scares (the E. coli and Norovirus outbreaks of 2015-2016), the pressure from investors became too much. He stepped down as CEO in 2017 and eventually left the board entirely in 2020.
But the guy can’t stay out of the kitchen.
As of 2026, Ells is back in the news with his new venture called Kernel. It’s a plant-based, tech-heavy restaurant concept in New York City. It’s pretty wild—it uses robotic arms to do the repetitive cooking tasks so that the human staff can focus on the finishing touches and get paid higher wages. It’s almost like he’s trying to solve the labor and sustainability problems he couldn't quite fix at Chipotle.
Key Facts About the Chipotle Founding
- Launch Date: July 13, 1993.
- The Original Loan: $85,000 from his father, Bob Ells.
- The First Menu: It was basically the same as it is now. Carnitas was the first recipe Ells perfected.
- The Name: Chipotle is the Nahuatl word for a smoked jalapeño. Back in '93, most people couldn't even pronounce it.
Why It Still Matters
Chipotle basically invented the "fast-casual" category. Before Ells, you either had "fast food" (cheap and greasy) or "casual dining" (sit-down with a waiter). He proved you could charge $8 or $10 for a meal if the quality was there and people could see it being made.
If you're looking to start your own thing, the lesson from Ells is pretty simple: your "backup plan" might actually be your billion-dollar idea. He didn't wait for a perfect market. He just focused on the food and let the business catch up.
If you're curious about how the brand has changed since Ells left, you should look into the "Chipotlane" digital strategy that the current CEO, Brian Niccol (who recently moved to Starbucks), implemented to save the company's margins during the 2020s. It’s a completely different beast than the original 1993 shop, but the core idea of "Food with Integrity" is still what keeps people in line.
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To learn more about how Chipotle's sourcing works today, check out their latest sustainability report on their official site or look up the "Restaurateur" program which remains a hallmark of their internal culture.