Operations
Chipotle outgrowing slump thanks to 10-minute visits
In November, same-store visits turned slightly positive, compared to previous declines, contributing to a stronger increase in total chain-wide traffic. December data shows that improvement continued to build. While expansion remains a key driver, this emerging pattern suggests existing locations may be starting to regain momentum.
January 21, 2026 by Lila Margalit — Content Writer, Placer.ai
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ClaudeBetween July and October 2025, Chipotle's year-over-year visit growth was driven almost entirely by expansion. Overall chain-wide visits rose each month, while same-store visits remained negative, generally hovering between -1% and -2%.
This pattern aligns closely with Chipotle's recent earnings results. In Q2 2025, the company reported a 4% decline in comparable restaurant sales driven by a nearly 5% drop in transactions, even as average check size increased modestly. Q3 showed a slight improvement in same-store sales, but that gain was driven by higher checks rather than traffic, prompting Chipotle to trim its same-store sales outlook to a low single-digit decline. Throughout this period, digital sales remained a significant share of revenue, and new restaurant openings continued to support overall growth.
More recent visit data, however, suggests the dynamic may be shifting. In November, same-store visits turned slightly positive, contributing to a stronger increase in total chain-wide traffic, and December data shows that improvement continued to build. While expansion remains a key driver, this emerging pattern suggests existing locations may be starting to regain momentum.
10 minutes to win it
Some of Chipotle's late-year momentum appears to be driven by a growing share of short visits (defined as those lasting under 10 minutes), which accounted for 42.2% of total chain traffic in 2025 — up from 41.2% in 2024. These quicker trips have consistently outperformed longer visits on a YoY basis, making their increasing share an important contributor to overall visit growth.
Importantly, the rise in short visits does not appear to be coming at the expense of longer ones. From July through October 2025, average per-location visits lasting under ten minutes remained essentially flat even as longer visits continued to lag; by December, however, both short and longer visits were growing on a per-location basis. This pattern indicates that the shift toward convenience is not cannibalizing traditional visit occasions, but may instead be lifting overall engagement with the brand.
The Bigger Signal
Chipotle still benefits from expansion, but the more important story may be what's happening inside existing restaurants: Same-store visits are stabilizing while quick trips gain share. And with the December launch of an all-new high-protein menu, Chipotle is signaling that it isn't standing still – it's continuing to refine its offerings to stay relevant as customer expectations and visit behaviors change.
This blog first appeared on Placer.ai
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