Franchising
Chipotle makes Dubai debut
October 2, 2024
Chipotle Mexican Grillopened its first restaurant Wednesday in Dubai with international franchisee Alshaya Group. Located at The Beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence, the location spans over 6,000 square feet. and is Chipotle's first restaurant in the United Arab Emirates. A second will open in the region at the Dubai Hills Mall in the coming months.
Chipotle's expansion into the Middle East began in April with a restaurant at The Avenues, Kuwait's largest shopping mall, Last month, Alshaya Group opened a second Chipotle restaurant in Kuwait at The Walk Mall in Ardiya.
"We are thrilled by the overwhelming response to Chipotle's responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real ingredients in Kuwait and hope to see similar enthusiasm at our JBR restaurant," Chief Business Development Officer Nate Lawton said in a company press release. "Alshaya has been a tremendous partner and continues to ensure our culinary and our purpose to cultivate a better world are clear points of differentiation for consumers as we enter these new regions."
John Hadden, CEO of Alshaya Group, said the early results at the restaurants in Kuwait exceeded his expectations.
"We're excited to open our doors at JBR and start serving Chipotle's delicious culinary and menu of real ingredients to more guests throughout the Gulf region," he said in the release.
Chipotle's existing international portfolio of owned and operated restaurants includes 47 locations in Canada; 20 in the United Kingdom; six locations in France and two in Germany. In North America, the Company owns and operates over 3,500 restaurants and is targeting 8 to 10% growth per year for the foreseeable future with at least 80% including a Chipotlane. Chipotle plans to open between 285 to 315 restaurants this year, with a long-term target of 7,000 locations in North America.
