Chipotle Opens Restaurant Support Center
Just in time to welcome back its corporate employees back to the office, Chipotle Mexican Grill has opened a new restaurant support center in Columbus, Ohio's Downtown Arena District. The 130,000 square foot space was recently completed, housing workspaces that are modern and bright, designed for the collaboration and innovation that embodies Chipotle’s culture and brand.
Construction of the restaurant support center took over two years to complete with temporary relocations and interim workspaces. The new office building will house approximately 400 employees across finance, guest & employee relations, development, food safety, legal, people experience, technology, facilities and operations. The offices are now open for employee use, and will welcome all employees on the official return to office date of March 1, with robust protocols to protect everyone’s health and safety.
“The key ingredients to our success—creativity, camaraderie and inclusiveness—can best be achieved to their full potential when we’re together in one innovative space,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer. “Columbus houses world-class diverse talent from all backgrounds and functions and we’re excited to bring more opportunities for advancement to the community and Cultivate a Better World together.”
Chipotle’s business is experiencing rapid growth, which could greatly increase the company’s hiring needs over the next several years in Ohio.
3,000 Locations and Growing
Earlier this month, Chipotle celebrated the opening of its 3,000th restaurant, which marks the business nearing the halfway point toward its long-term growth goal of 7,000 restaurants in North America.
Chipotle, a company recognized for its inclusivity, worked with several minority-owned, women-owned or veteran-owned contractors and subcontractors to complete the support center, and will report on its diversity spend at the end of the year. The Arena District space was designed by female co-owned Semple Brown and utilized female owned E2 Optics for technology cables throughout the building. Additionally, approximately a quarter of the overall subcontracted work was awarded to businesses owned by underrepresented groups. The building was developed by Nationwide Realty Investors with the central Ohio construction company Elford, Inc. serving as the general contractor.