CEO of Burrito Joint That Recently Poisoned Hundreds Of People: "We're Gonna Be The Safest Place To Eat"
Not at all worried about what comes next.
As some of you may have heard, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) has come under fire over the last several months for the small matter of infecting a mess of patrons with norovirus. Most recently, it took down over 100 students at its location near Boston College. Not so surprisingly, poisoning more than 3-figures worth of customers has not done wonders for the company's stock price, which has plummeted from an August high. One guy who's not at all worried about Chipotle's financial health? Founder and chief executive officer Steve Ells, who told NBC as much yesterday.
Asked whether the company could recover financially, Ells said “certainly.”
Another thing Ells isn't worried about? Clinching the title of "Cleanest Goddamn Restaurants On The Face Of The Earth" at industry award shows, despite having hospitalized many, many people since August.
“This was a very unfortunate incident and I’m deeply sorry that this happened, but the procedures we’re putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat,” Ells said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” program...He added that the new food safety procedures the company is putting in place would put it 10 to 15 years ahead of industry standards.
No, really, you're gonna want to eat off the floors. It's borderline illegal how clean they're gonna make these things.
