The International Mexican Chain That Originated In Denver Over 30 Years Ago

When a chain restaurant reaches the sort of ubiquity that this one has — with over 3,700 locations spread across not just the U.S., but also a handful of other countries around the world — it almost becomes hard to imagine that it could ever have been just one solitary establishment. But even fast-casual empires must start somewhere. For Chipotle Mexican Grill, that somewhere is a small restaurant at the corner of Evans Avenue and South Gilpin Street in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

In 1993, just a few blocks away from the University of Denver campus, Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle restaurant with the idea of dishing out high-quality customizable meals at a pace to give fast food giants a run for their money. Ells put his training from the Culinary Institute of America to work in that first restaurant, weaving in culinary experiences of eating Mission-style burritos in San Francisco while he worked as a line cook in the city, settling on a restaurant focused on made-to-order burritos. With an $85,000 loan from his father, he returned home to Colorado and got the business off the ground.

Just a couple of years later, the second Chipotle restaurant opened. A few years after that, the number was up to 14. Nowadays, it seems like you can find one in just about every town in the country. You won't find the original Chipotle listed among the best restaurants in Denver, but if you want to visit the site where this tortilla-wrapped empire got its start, that first location is still in operation. Aside from a small plaque on the building, there isn't much to set it apart from other Chipotle restaurants, but it does give a glimpse into the humble beginnings of this Mexican food monolith.

While the first Chipotle restaurant may not be much to look at, there is no doubt that it was the birthplace of a new restaurant system. It can be debated whether or not Chipotle qualifies as fast food, but generally it is accepted to be one of the pioneers of fast-casual dining. It was not the first to attempt this style of dining experience, with restaurants like Panera Bread and Zuzu beating it to that market by several years, but the unique customizable style of the menu options went on to create a framework that has since become a staple throughout the industry. When Chipotle first opened its doors, however, its unique offerings were a challenge.

That very first Chipotle location didn't have any menu, which was understandably confusing to the initial customers. The lack of clear options was a deterrent to potential diners, leading to many popping in and then right back out. But Ells put in the work with these people, chasing them down on the street and offering a free burrito to show them both the quality of the food and the unique nature of the dining experience. Clearly it worked, given both the meteoric rise of the fast casual chain and the many other restaurants that have since copied the customizable assembly-line style of service, such as Qdoba, Cava, and Sweetgreen, to name just a few. The chain has come a long way from that one small menu-less restaurant, but the ideas hatched on that Denver corner changed the U.S. restaurant industry forever.