Chipotle, Nation's Fastest Growing Fast Food Chain, To Raise Prices
By Christy Strawser, CBS Detroit
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) You could blame it on the basso nova -- but you would be wrong. Blame it on the avocado? Now you're cooking.
Fan favorite Chipotle announced it's raising prices for the first time in three years, thanks to an uptick in the price of steak, avocado and cheese.
"It has been nearly three years since our last company-wide price increase, and while we want to remain accessible to our customers, we are at a point where we need to pass along these rapidly rising food costs," Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said on a conference call with analysts, according to the Chicago Tribune .
The increase is expected to stay in the single digit percentage, according to speculation.
Chipotle, which builds its reputation on using high-quality produce, and antibiotic-free, hormone-free chicken and beef, is one of the fastest growing fast food chains in the country.
"We believe we have a lot of pricing power," Hartung said in response to questions from business analysts. "We have built up quite a bit of permission to raise prices. We won't cash in on all of that pricing ability right now, so we will still have some in the bank."
Currently, a chicken burrito is $6.25, and a beef version is $6.65 at the Southfield, Mich., location on Telegraph Road, where the lunchtime takeout lines are known to stretch to the back of the store.
So, what was fan reaction to the price hike?
From Tweets like these, it looked like for the most part, they took it in stride.