Chipotle is finally going to test something on-the-go customers have been demanding for years
Executives announced during a call with investors Tuesday that the burrito chain would test a drive-thru window at a location in Ohio this fall.
"We need to evolve the Chipotle experience," CMO Mark Crumpacker said on the call.
He said that in addition to attracting new customers, the chain's first-ever "vehicular pickup window" could be key to winning back people who ditched the chain after its 2015 E. coli crisis.
Up until this point, Chipotle has been one of the few national quick-service chains not to offer a drive-thru option.
Customers have been begging the chain to add a drive-in window for some time:
Chipotle is typically resistant to change, preferring to stick with its tried-and-true menu and business model. However, recently the chain has been forced to mix things up to win back customers after a 2015 food poisoning scandal drove customers away from the chain.
The chain recently added queso to the menu at its first public test kitchen after saying for years that it would never serve the dish. On Tuesday, Chipotle announced it would add queso to the menu at 350 locations in August, and it could start serving the dish nationally as soon as mid-September.