#firstlocation

And so it began. On July 13, 1993, Steve opened the first Chipotle on Evans Avenue in Denver. Back then, there was no training department. There was no marketing team. There were no rules. They just had great food and they made up the rest as they went.

As with any small business, there were obstacles to overcome and successes to celebrate. And there were lots of stories! If you’ve ever wondered what it was like back then, we’re going to take a trip down memory lane and share some of the stories from those who were there.

Joe Stupp, who you might know from the Chipotle social media world, was actually the second General Manager for the Evans location. He remembered the water situation. The buildings in that area were old and they all seemed to share the same plumbing. As a result, they shared the same water pressure. Joe told us there was a hair salon on the same block. He said that whenever they were rinsing somebody’s hair, it would be very difficult to pour a Coca-Cola. Now they have full pressure and guests can fill their own drinks.

Joe also recalled some concerned neighbors. “Anthony’s Pizza down the block was totally worried about us hurting their business initially when we opened. But after a few months, having us there along with them sort of turned the block into a destination area, and it increased business for us both.” Joe added, “I think after that, when they opened a new restaurant, they tended to consider real estate that was near our restaurants, too.”

One summer, the make-up air for the grill hoods wasn’t working. Joe said, “It was cooler outside in the hot Colorado heat, than it was in the kitchen. I think I lost about 20 pounds that summer.” When the seasons changed, they had another obstacle. Since the dining room was small and the location was busy, there was nowhere for people to stand and get out of the cold unless they snaked around their dining customers. Joe said it became “a very um, ‘intimate’ affair.”  

The basement was another unique feature. The basement was, and still is, the office and storeroom. It’s fairly infamous with our customers—even today—since its only access is a trapdoor in the floor, situated along the path to the restrooms. What our customers may not know is that it also has a very low ceiling. “I used to need to wear a baseball cap in the basement,” said Joe, “because the ceiling was so low, I used to put light bulbs out with my head.”

Gretchen Selfridge, who started as General Manager at our second location and is now the Restaurant Support Officer for the entire company, also can’t forget that basement. “Once you come down the stairs (backwards because it’s like a ladder) you turn around. Unless you are under 5’ 4”, you hit your forehead on a beam.” She added, “It was always easy to tell which managers over the years have worked at Evans because they all have the same scar on their forehead.”

Gretchen pointed out that the serving line is behind the glass blocks and it isn’t open like it is with the rest of our restaurants. We also didn’t have menus or menu boards—and we still don't have menu boards since there is no room.

Gretchen said, “It felt very much like the Seinfeld episode of “The Soup Nazi.” If you did not speak up or know how to order, the guests in line behind you would give you dirty looks and ask to go past you.” On the plus side, we saw that it could be a little intimidating, so we tried to make things easier by adding menus, menu boards and building an open serving line for our other restaurants. 

Sure the location was small. Sure, that made for some great stories and even a few headaches, literally in some cases. But we learned a lot and, as Joe said, “The smallness of the location really made for great customer interaction. Why stand at the counter, when you can go talk to the customer who was sitting only about two feet away at a table?”

This location is near and dear to all of us. In fact, when new office employees go through orientation, they all take a trek to Evans so they can see where we started. Many customers even make it a sort of vacation destination.

The small quarters—or coziness if you’re a romantic—made building our brand through customer service and hospitality really easy. We’re much larger now, but we all take a little of this location with us into each and every restaurant today.

Joe put it best, “People felt like they were our friends, and they were.” And they still are.