Chipotle is expanding its new pizzeria chain eastward, a sign that the fast-food giant has national ambitions for pizza.
The company said Thursday that it plans to open a Pizzeria Locale in Kansas City, Missouri, later this year. This will be Chipotle’s first pizza eatery outside Colorado, where it already operates two Pizzeria Locales.
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“Pizza is far more popular than even Mexican,” Allen said. “This can be an absolute goldmine.”
Fast-food behemoths have taken note of Chipotle’s success. McDonald’s, whose chief executive announced this week he will step down amid anemic sales, is slimming down its menu in hopes of making it more simple. Yum! Brands — the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut — opened Banh Shop, a Vietnamese street-food chain in Dallas in September. To more directly take on Chipotle, the company also launched U.S. Taco Co., an upscale taqueria, in Huntington Beach, California, in August.
