Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) reported opening of a new restaurant called Farmesa at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. Farmesa is a new concept with fresh, delicious proteins, greens, grains and vegetables inspired by Chipotle’s Food and Integrity standards. This concept will open with an abbreviated menu and limited hours before officially rolling out in March. “One of our strategic objectives is to create or invest in emerging culinary spaces and restaurant concepts that fit within Chipotle’s food with integrity mission and make fresh food daily,” said Brian Niccol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our New Ventures team, which was created in 2022, developed a unique restaurant concept that uses classic culinary techniques with flavorful ingredients in a fast casual setting that we’re excited to test and learn on before we determine a broader rollout strategy.”
The commitment to fresh ingredients through their menu is curated by Nate Appleman, an award-winning chef that serves as Director of Culinary Innovation at Farmesa, where he previously led innovations for Chipotle in the mid to late 2000s.
Farmesa will serve 100% Certified Organic, Non-GMO and All-Natural drinks from Tractor Beverage Co. with still and sparkling water. “Launching Farmesa in the Kitchen United Mix food hall in Santa Monica and partnering with third-party partners for pickup or delivery will allow us to reach a large number of consumers, learn quickly, and evolve our concept and menu so that we can deliver on our goals before expanding,” said Nate Lawton, Vice President of New Ventures at Chipotle. “We believe there’s an opportunity to serve premium, craveable food every day and we’re eager to bring this new concept to life.”
