Chipotle Hints At Offering Delivery And Drive-Thrus

Michael Saechang/flickrChipotle founder Steve Ells wants to know if Americans are ready for delivery burritos and drive-thru windows at restaurants nationwide.

Ells floated the proposals in a rare set of tweets on Saturday.

The 48-year-old executive is usually quiet on Twitter, having sent just 19 tweets since February of 2011. He suddenly began tweeting again last week after a 13-month hiatus.

Ells has floated the idea of adding drive-thru windows in the past, but at the time he said it could detract from the customer experience.

"In sort of expanding the Chipotle concept as we go to new markets, the question always comes up, should we try one with a drive-thru?" Ells said during an October 2012 call with analysts. "And part of what customers love is the ability to customize... And a drive-thru distances them from that. So it doesn't seem like for the majority of our customers it's something that would be relevant."

"That being said, it's certainly something that we could try in the future," he added.

Ells hasn't publicly discussed drive-thrus since that call.

The service certainly generates a lot of business: QSR Magazine estimates that 60% to 70% of fast food restaurants' sales are generated through drive-thru windows.

But there's a question of whether it would work for a fast casual restaurant like Chipotle, which prides itself on the customer experience.

"Fast-casual chains have eschewed [drive-through] windows, adopting the Subway approach by using mostly leased, inline locations and relying on walk-in traffic," writes Jonathon Maze in the trade publication Restaurant Finance Monitor. "And it's been working. The sector is the only one in the restaurant business that is currently growing."