Social media users were spreading and responding to rumors on Friday that fast-casual eatery Chipotle Mexican Grill was closing stores and filing for bankruptcy this year.
Numerous users took to X, formerly Twitter, on March 20 and 21 to express frustration with the supposed closures.
“Chipotle is closing all restaurants & is declaring bankruptcy,” user @SukolVentures shared to X on March 20. “The number of businesses declaring bankruptcy is very eerie.”
X user @GawdDAMM_it expressed frustration with the closure by writing: “chipotle is closing. wtf”. The X post had over 3,200 views at the time of publishing.
“Trump economy: No eggs, now Iconic Chipotle bankruptcy closing”, user @SOLARLIFE posted.
The rumor appears to stem from an article published by a media aggregation outlet called Unión Rayo, based in Madrid, that references the closure of Farmesa Fresh, a spinoff concept Chipotle had invested in. The story’s main image shows the Chipotle logo. Chipotle recently announced it was abandoning the Farmesa concept to focus on its core business.
A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in New York on June 3, 2022. A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in New York on June 3, 2022. Getty Images/Anne Czichos
The Claim
Chipotle Mexican Grill is closing stores and filing for bankruptcy in 2025.
The Facts
There is no evidence to suggest that Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has over 3,700 restaurants as of March 2025, will shutter locations and file for bankruptcy. Based on the results of their fourth quarter and evaluation of 2024 financial performance, the business’ revenue increased 14.6 percent year-to-year.
The rumor appears to have started based off an unsourced article from a Spanish aggregation website.
Chipotle’s media relations team confirmed to Newsweek that the rumor was false and that the company anticipates opening between 315 to 345 new restaurants this year, with “at least 80%” including a “Chipotlane,” the chain’s drive-thru window option.
In response to unfounded claims that Chipotle is going out of business, a representative wrote: “Chipotle’s Q4FY2024 earnings call indicated zero debt and over $2 billion in cash reserves.” The representative then pointed to the spike in total revenue from 2023 to 2024.
Supplemental financial data from the company indicated that throughout 2024, the chain closed five locations and opened 304 company-owned stores. Approximately eight locations were relocated that year, and three licensed restaurants were opened.
Back in 2023, Chipotle opened one test location of Farmesa Fresh Eatery at 1315 3rd Street, in Santa Monica, California, per a company press release.
Farmesa, which utilized Chipotle’s standards, soft-opened with an abbreviated menu and limited hours. The menu had been crafted by James Beard Award-winning Chef Nate Appleman who worked with Chipotle in the mid to late 2000s.
In the email, the company noted that the single location was opened “to gather key learnings,” and the company “made the decision to no longer pursue the venture several months later.”
The Ruling
False.
Based on a March 21 response from Chipotle’s media relations team, in combination with the results of the final quarter earnings and annual financial evaluation, Chipotle Mexican Grill is not filing for bankruptcy or closing stores in the immediate future and is, in fact, expanding.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check Team
