Fast food chain with 20 sites in the UK abruptly closes high street branch

A FAST food chain with 20 UK sites has abruptly shut one of its high street restaurants.

Chipotle has unexpectedly closed its Watford branch for good only two years after it first opened.

The Watford branch held a significant place in Chipotle’s UK history as its first venture outside of London, opening in June 2022.

While initially hailed as a milestone in the chain’s expansion, the closure demonstrates the challenges of establishing a presence beyond the capital.

Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs office at Chipotle, said: “As part of our ongoing operations, we reviewed the performance of our Watford restaurant and made the difficult decision to close the location.

“Our employees were offered opportunities at other Chipotle restaurants in the London area.”

All other restaurants remain unaffected by the single closure.

Chipotle is famed in the US for its burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and salads.

Specifically, their guacamole is often cited as a favourite, along with their pico de gallo, cheese, and fajita vegetables.

While they offer a variety of meats, chicken and steak are popular choices.

Chipotle’s UK journey began in May 2010 with its first restaurant on London’s Charing Cross Road.

Initial expansion was swift, with additional locations opening on Baker Street, Wardour Street, and St Martin’s Lane by late 2011, and a fifth in Islington shortly after. 

Growth then slowed considerably, with only two more London branches appearing by 2015. 

Despite the slower-than-expected growth, Chipotle maintained its commitment to the UK market.

By 2022, the chain had grown to 12 restaurants, primarily in London, and had reaffirmed its intention to expand further, utilising a “stage gate” approach to test and learn from new openings.

This strategy allowed Chipotle to adapt to the UK market and refine its offerings.

As of January 2024, Chipotle operates 20 UK restaurants.

Other US fast-food chain’s plan to expand their presence into the UK this year.

American fast food giant Chick-fil-A is crossing the pond and bringing its beloved chicken sandwiches to our high streets.

The Sun exclusively revealed the exact locations of their first five permanent UK restaurants.

Tex-Mex brand Velvet Taco will also make its UK debut in the spring.

What is happening to the hospitality industry?

It’s been a tough year for hospitality with a number of chain restaurants disappearing from the high street.

Rising bills, increasing labour costs and high guest expectations have all made it a tough environment for restaurants.

Craig Rachel, director at financial adviser AlixPartners, explained what had pushed businesses to close sites in 2024.

He said: “Restaurants have seen the accumulation of external pressures in 2024, including rising utility costs, food prices and labour costs. Although some of these factors have stabilised over recent months, the overall impact is significant and will be exacerbated again in 2025 following the budget announcements, and this has all affected profitability.

“Some restaurant groups have been able to mitigate this to a certain extent through operational efficiencies and pricing, but consumer spending in the sector is under pressure meaning price measures are often unable to fully bridge the gap.

“For some groups the cumulative impact of these factors have made certain sites unviable and we’ve seen the resulting closures.

“However, there have also been winners over the period.

“There are examples of chains with differentiated offers that resonate with consumers delivering very strong performance during the year, and we have seen certain groups attracting interest from both trade and private equity investors that could drive merger and acquisition activity into 2025.”

But, while some may be seeing brighter days ahead accounting firm RSM has warned there could be further casualties in 2025 with “some hospitality businesses unlikely to remain viable in the face of such cost increases.”

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge also warned of further closures after October’s budget.

He said: “There will be a huge amount of closures.

“We’ve already got high-profile names and Michelin-star restaurants that have decided to shut their doors.

“And when that starts to happen, it does begin to filter down.”

And it’s not just chains that have been struggling, a number of celebrity TV chefs’ restaurants have closed this year.

What’s on the menu at Chipotle?

The chain offers a wide choice on its menu.

Build your own burritos and burrito bowls start at £9.45.

There is also a wide selection of lifestyle bowls with the cheapest ones starting at £9.45 but going up to £13.45 for a high protein bowl or the protein pump bowl.

Quesadillas are also build your own so do vary in price depending on what you order but the cheapest ones start at £9.45.

Similarly, their salads start at £9.45 but vary depending on what you order.

There’s also a whole range of tacos on offer as well with prices once again starting at £9.45.

Chipotle also has a range of sides and dips to choose from, along with different size options.

Tortilla chips and guacamole costs £4.65 while an order of chips and fresh tomato salsa costs £3.15.