Once again, Chipotle is staffing up ahead of "burrito season." And once again, the people are asking: "What the hell is burrito season?"
Last week, in sharp contrast to the ugly layoff news coming out of other big companies, Chipotle announced that it's looking to hire 19,000 workers over the next month. The reason? According to the fast-casual chain, it's preparing for an annual surge in cylindrical Mexican food consumption that lasts from March through May. Burrito season, the company says, represents its busiest time of the year.
If you're like me, you may find yourself scratching your head at this one. Does everybody wake up on March 1 and suddenly feel a deep urge to seek out overpriced guacamole? Does the return of spring cause an irresistible desire for rice and beans? And why do Americans suddenly turn against Mexican food in June? Is it simply too hot? Burnout from Cinco de Mayo?
When I asked a spokesperson for Chipotle to shed some light on the mysteries of burrito season, her answer was both straightforward and perplexing. Chipotle sees its highest sales volume in the spring, she said, thanks to "weather and daylight." The days are warmer and the sun is out longer, so people apparently want to chow down on burritos. Square, the company that provides restaurants with those little white card readers, confirmed for me that from March through May last year, it saw a 20% increase in burrito sales at the locations using its tech compared with the three months prior.
That all makes sense, I suppose. But after confirming the existence of burrito season, I was still left with two big questions. Does the phenomenon apply solely to burritos? And why does it suddenly stop in June?
It turns out that burritos aren't, in fact, the only craving people get as the flowers start to bloom. "The warmer spring weather encourages more people to dine out, increasing foot traffic to restaurants," Siye Desta, an equity analyst at CFRA Research, told me. Warmer weather also brings more social activities, he added, which means people are more likely to dine out in groups or place catering orders for events.
Square also told me that it saw a similar sales jump for other food items, like burgers and sushi, and data from the Census Bureau confirms a broad, seasonal uptick in eating out. Sales at restaurants and bars seem to especially suck in February — arguably winter's bleakest month — and then start to pick up in March. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also shows that hiring in accommodation and food services picks up in the spring.
As you get more sunlight on a particular day or week, people's negative emotions start to decrease, and they start to spend more moneyKyle Murray, University of Alberta business professor
The spring spending boom isn't even just a restaurant thing. Nicer weather means people open their wallets more for everything. And it has more to do with light than temperature. "We looked at a bunch of different types of weather — rain or snow, hot and cold — but what really mattered was sunlight," said Kyle Murray, a business professor at the University of Alberta who has studied weather effects on consumer spending. "As you get more sunlight on a particular day or week, people's negative emotions start to decrease, and they start to spend more money." When the sun comes out, we cheer up. And when Americans are happy, we whip out our credit cards.
Which brings me to my second question: Wouldn't the spending spree apply to the summer months too? Why does Memorial Day mark the end of the burrito bonanza? When I asked Chipotle why burrito season cut off in June, the spokesperson said its restaurants near colleges and universities — of which there are many — did more business during the academic year. Fewer students after May means fewer burritos at Chipotle.
Census Bureau data shows sales at food services and drinking places do tend to dip slightly in June, though sales generally perk up for the rest of the summer. That would seem to indicate that any summer slump may be more burrito-specific.
Justin Seitzler, the director of operations at El Gallo Taqueria, a taqueria with four locations in New York, shed some extra light on why burrito season tapered off come summer. After February, he said, business starts to pick up until "the dog days of summer," July and August. At that point, folks head off on vacation. "New Yorkers tend to hit the Hamptons on the weekend, or they'll go find a beach," Seitzler said. "Everyone leaves town." Once school starts, business starts to pick up again.
To everything there is a season, and evidently, from March to May, that season is for rice, beans, and cheese in a tortilla. So even if you're not in the mood for a burrito right now, don't be surprised if you are in about six weeks.
Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.