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NBC offers free Chipotle for America's Next Great Restaurant promo

February 24, 2011

NBC has launched a promotion with Chipotle in anticipation of its new television show, America’s Next Great Restaurant.

The network is offering free Chipotle food for anyone who watches a 90-second promo on Facebook for the upcoming show, which puts Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Lorena Garcia in the position of judging restaurant concepts from across the country.

The winning contestant will receive a new restaurant chain based on their original concept that will start with the openings of three locations in Hollywood, Calif., Minneapolis and New York City. The restaurants will initially be funded by Ells, Flay, Stone and Garcia, who also will act as mentors to the contestants.

To promote the show, NBC is using an app on the show’s Facebook page where, in exchange for watching the promo, visitors get a buy-one, get-one-free coupon at Chipotle. The promotion ends March 6, the same day Amercia’s Next Great Restaurantairs its first show.

Chipotle also is running an in-store texting promotion offering customers a chance to get a catered burrito party. Anyone who texts “ANGR” (for America’s Next Great Restaurant) from any Chipotle location will have a chance to win.

The show is targeting the fast casual segment, which Ells has mentioned in prior interviews.

“It makes sense given the growth of fast casual restaurants,” he said. “We looked at some thousands of ideas. Some of them were pretty crazy and pretty off the wall. We chose the person and the concept that we think has the best chance, but it’s really up to the individual now to take those three restaurants and demonstrate their leadership and entrepreneurship skills.”

Producers also said that fast casual restaurants made sense given their community prominence.

“These are restaurants that are in every neighborhood and we feel like this is the right sector to go off of,” said show producer Dan Cutforth. “The idea for the show was that it would be a culinary show that anyone could be a part of. When talking about the show, almost everyone we spoke to had an idea for a restaurant.”

Some of the more unique ideas that didn’t make the show’s cut included a male version of Hooters called Peckers, and a combination restaurant and gun store.

While some of the more unique concepts were given serious review, the contestants that make it through had the most executable idea.

“The fun of watching the show is seeing how these people stick to their original vision while incorporating the investor’s advice. And how the investors react is all part of the story,” said another show producer, Jane Lipsitz. “This prize is very meaningful and it shows it doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have. The final three (contestants) have worked so hard and for them to see their dreams come to life, even if they don’t walk away the winner, it really has a lot of emotional resonance.”