DENVER — Chipotle Mexican Grill has reopened its doors to the first-ever Chipotle restaurant in its hometown of Denver following a summer-long renovation.
The original Chipotle location opened in the former Dolly Madison ice cream shop on East Evans Avenue across from the University of Denver, where founder, chairman and CEO Steve Ells prepared the food and served the very first Chipotle customers.
Chipotle expanded the basement of the 850-square-foot restaurant to create additional storage and food prep space, allowing the small open kitchen — still a hallmark design element of all Chipotle locations — to be more efficient. Work in the dining room updated the style of the space, while preserving features of the first restaurant.
Ells opened the second Chipotle in 1995 and the third in 1996. Today, Chipotle has more than 2,300 locations worldwide.