NEWPORT BEACH (CNS) - Chipotle Mexican Grill announced today it will relocate its headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach.
Functions within the Denver office will either be consolidated in Chipotle's existing office in Columbus, Ohio, or moved to the new headquarters in Orange County, according to CEO Brian Niccol.
``We'll always be proud of our Denver roots where we opened our first restaurant 25 years ago,'' Niccol said. ``The consolidation of offices and the move to California will help us drive sustainable growth while continuing to position us well in the competition for top talent."
Over the next six months, Chipotle plans to transition its Denver and New York office functions to Newport Beach and Columbus, then permanently close the Denver and NYC offices. About 400 employees work in those two locations, and some are being offered relocation and retention packages, according to the company.
Newport Beach will serve as the headquarters for the company's operations, business development, marketing, communications, finance, supply chain, food safety, technology, HR and other corporate functions. The support functions will be located in the Shared Services Center in Columbus, where the company plans to increase the workforce from 100 to more than 250 employees.
Chipotle opened with a single location in Denver in 1993 and now operates more than 2,400 restaurants.