Chipotle workers say 'Boorito' was a flop this year because of high prices

• Chipotle held its annual Halloween promotion in person this year.
• Seven workers told Insider that their stores were slower than expected.

Chipotle just held its annual Halloween "Boorito" promotion, but some workers told Insider that sales were underwhelming this year.

Seven Chipotle workers across the US told Insider that their stores saw lower traffic than expected and didn't meet sales projections. All spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

A worker in New Jersey who previously told Insider that her store had more time to prep this year, said her location was "incredibly slow" on Halloween.

"There was a lot of prep done and a lot of people staffed, but the customers just weren't coming in," she told Insider, saying that her store didn't meet even 75% of its sales projections.

Halloween was single highest rewards enrollment day of 2022, a Chipotle spokesperson told Insider, but declined to comment on sales numbers.

The company previously told Insider that it was planning for a fun in-person experience in its restaurants.

"After two years of celebrating virtually, we're leveling up the in-person experience with fun activations on social that will help bring fans together on Halloween," Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle, previously told Insider in a statement about this year's event.

Some workers speculated that the slow traffic was in part due to the "chaos" of last year, when lines extended outside stores at many locations, and customers didn't want to deal with it. "I wish we were busy [this year]" a California employee told Insider. "We were prepared this time."

Others said that the deal wasn't enticing enough to draw in customers this year. In the past, customers could go to Chipotle on Halloween in a costume and order a discounted entree. The price has gone up over the years, to $3 in 2017, $4 in 2019, and $5 for the online-only promotion in 2021. This year was the highest price yet, at $6.

"$3 or $4 off the price of your entree isn't enough to make people come out" a manager in Texas speculated to Insider.

An East Coast worker agreed, calling it a "slower than average" night.

Another manager in the Southwest said his location was less busy than an average Monday night. He said he sent half of his employees home early because the store was "dead."

This is in complete contrast to 2021, when workers told Insider about long lines, staying late to finish cleaning, and even some workers walking off the job.

Outside of the Boorito promotion, Chipotle has raised prices several times over the last year and a half, most recently in August, when the chain raised prices for a burrito by about 50 cents to $1 each.

In the first quarter of 2022, Chipotle raised menu prices by 4%, CFO Jack Hartung told investors. Those were on top of earlier price hikes in part due to raising wages for employees in June 2021 when the fast-casual chain said that it also raised prices about 4%.

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