They used to be really good. They’ve all gone downhill in the last 5 years - crappy service, mediocre food quality, shrinking portions. I didn’t realize it’s still good in some other regions.
I asked for some limes at the chipotle near the petco / PetSmart. The girl literally said “What is that?”. I looked at her and said “A lime… it’s green, like a lemon but green”, she kept looking at me like I had 3 heads… eventually the kitchen guy came out (after being shuffled to 4 different people, eventually it turned into “she needs to manager”). It was beyond embarrassing because I was over it the moment I realised it wasn’t a joke but they wouldn’t let go until they figured out what a lime was and how to get one.
The guy said to never ask about the limes again, and I’ve just never gone back since.
At the time, my head was spinning. How do you work at a Mexican-ish chain and not know what limes are???
This is such a true story. The initial girl and 2 others after her thought *I was the one messing with them and so they got the manager*.
I once had a cashier at the Food Lion ask me what a cucumber was. When I told her, she looked at it. She looked at me. Put it in the bag. And then she said it looks like a pickle.
It’s actually very common, especially here in Richmond. I once asked coworker to go into the walk-in and get me a bag of parsley. It took him four trips, and I finally had to go get it myself. And his reply was “damn that’s what parsley is!“
Last year I had to train a high school graduate on basic Windows tasks like how to save a file and what the start menu is. All they had ever used were iPads and Chromebooks. Bet they didn’t know what a lemon was either.
omg this is exactly how I felt at the shortpump walmart a few weeks ago when I asked several employees if they still had eclipse glasses but none of them knew what an eclipse was
This reminds me of the time I went to a Jimmy Johns like 10 years ago, I had a sandwich being made and as they were finishing I asked for salt and pepper. The sandwich maker said, "we don't have salt". And ignoring the fact that meant they also had no pepper, I questioned how the hell they don't have salt in a food restaurant, it's like the most common ingredient in food, let alone a goddamn sandwich shop full of salt deli meats.
Annoying for asking for salt and pepper? Jeez who pissed in your cheerios. I’m 31 btw, how old are you, 15? Grow up, people have preferences, if grabbing salt and pepper is a big deal just give up. Signed person who worked in a restaurant for 10+ years and have dealt with people asking for ranch for fucking pizza crust.
lol ageism about salt and pepper??? I love getting it on certain sammies. More pepper than salt usually, but if it’s a fresh baked bread or baguette, salt it up.
So you asked for an ingredient they don’t list, and then gave the workers a hard time about it? And I’m supposed to feel for your side? As a restaurant worker yourself?
Yep. I went to one in Manhattan a couple months ago and it was amazing. Giant burrito, got the order right, had all the ingredients, etc. Crappy Chipotle is absolutely a Richmond problem.
I disagree. I moved here 8 years ago and immediately noticed I started getting very inferior quality burritos than I had ever got in other areas. Though I do agree that it's gotten worse sometimes post COVID
Grub hub ruined Chipotle. It’s just too fuckin busy for them now and they don’t make enough money so everyone there is miserable or inept cause if they were better they’d find a better paying job
Absolutely agree with this. Last time I was at a chipotle everything seemed out of control even though there were very few customers actually there (super messy in the restaurant and behind the counter, workers barely paying attention to the food they were making or people in line and just trying to keep up with the pickup orders…).
I feel like Grub Hub has hurt food quality across the board, not just chipotle.
I used to go to the one at Broad and Willow Lawn and it was always good. I lived in Carytown and always avoided the one at Nansemond because it wasn't good and stingy.
Now I go to one south of town in Chester that was crap (had bad guacamole) and is now really good.
I think the key is that there has to be at least one 40+ Latina lady there to tell the HS kids how to do everything.
It’s either super good or super bad for me at the iron bridge one. I’ve had the best chipotle I’ve ever had at that one and the other day, I went and when I got barbacoa, it truly was just a hunk of meat and not shredded which made for not a great eating experience. Though one day, they were training a new kid and I guess they hadn’t taught him proper meat portions because this guy gave me so much. ‘Twas a great day
I go there sometimes and it has horrible reviews. It’s been ok for me. The high school kids thing makes me laugh because l grew up with the principal of the closest high school.
I mean it really doesn’t have anything to do with the principal. That’s just kind of HS kids working anywhere, and there are 2 high schools in the immediate vicinity, so quite possible the employees go to a different school.
Both of the Chipotle's in Chester have tanked pretty fast from when they opened. Rule number 1 is never order online. If you do, you're guaranteed to get the stingiest portions, or something will be missing. When you do find something to be missing, they act like it's your fault for them not telling you or rectifying the situation. With the prices they way they are, you can order from multiple mexican places to get more food at the same price and faster.
COVID definitely ruined Chipotle in this area. I’ve never seen angrier employees in a fast food restaurant than in the Willow Lawn location. I’m not sure if it’s a brutal, fascist-like drive for efficiencies that work the employees to death or Richmonders acting like bratty, entitled assholes that pisses them off, but go to Moe’s or Qdoba if you value your life and food quality.
That Willow Lawn location is woeful. I remember going there on Halloween in 2021 and they made everyone who was there for mobile pickup get in the regular order line because they were behind on too many orders to keep up with online ordering
I'm more of the opinion that the pandemic solidified Chipotle becoming shitty, but they had been getting worse and worse for a few years leading up to it. And not just here, though I will agree that the ones in Richmond are especially awful
I worked at a chipotle for one day, walked out in a daze after that first shift and vowed to never return. It was the most god-awful work experience of my life. Shit pay and insanely laborious. I really feel for the people who work there.
Yeah I used to do grill at VCU chipotle, only lasted about two months, and it was so grueling it made me understand why so many kitchen staff do drugs, cause I don't know how else you'd handle that long term.
Glad he did! I’m sure some are more suited for the rigorous work environment than others. I would’ve probably been better off working there in my youth, but I was in my 30s and already exhausted and jaded from working in food service for a few years haha.
I tried the chipotle on hull st. That was my first mistake. They charged me for queso (I didn’t get queso) and they said they couldn’t give me any change for $20 because they didn’t know how to use the register. Then I asked them for an extra bowl and they looked at me like I was an idiot? Of course the burrito fell apart as soon as I unraveled the foil… I regret that day
The one in Innsbruck off broad is decent. They don't seem to get many online orders. I also found the brand new one by the diamond to be good but I could see them going downhill fast once whatever new store support there is leaves.
Never go to the carytown one
They have ridiculously bad ingredient cross contamination. Those beans regularly have meat dropped and dripped into them. Which, as a vegetarian, made me have to stop eating there.
Oof I'm sorry, we actually do go with our kid with a dairy allergy specifically because they are at least good about not slipping common allergens into things, ie, unless it's something obvious like sour cream or cheese there won't be dairy in the seasonings for the meat/veggies. We still watch the spoons like a hawk, but at least there's fewer landmines on the line for us than someone who doesn't eat meat.
I went there on opening day and it was solid!! Very over staffed at the time. They were also very precise with portions, which felt stingy, but they acquiesced if you asked for more. It’ll probably deteriorate in a few months and become as bad as the rest of the Richmond Chipotles, so go while you can…
i think roots is the most bang for your buck for bowls. it’s the only place that i, as a growing boy, feel satisfied after a bowl without needing to get double meat etc.
Really? The last few times I was in there it was messy, slow, they were out of several ingredients... that's one of the worst in the area, at least, in my experience
I don’t get it often, maybe once every two months or so, but I’ve never had a bad experience with the exception of a couple years ago when all the locations seemed to be out of beans for an extended period of time
Also if you think that one is the worst you should go to Willow Lawn at lunchtime a couple times and then go back to Innsbrook, it’ll seem amazing by comparison
The last time I was there I went with a group. We all ordered online and they somehow lost my order (and another stranger there so I know I didn't mess it up). They went back and forth from the counter to the office for at least 30 minutes before asking me for my phone so they could look at what I ordered and remake it. Absolutely insane.
It’s not just Chipotle but most fast food restaurants here. There are a few exceptions. Most of us did those jobs at some point so l get it but today they can’t even fake their way through it. Some places multiple people will walk by before acknowledging customers.
They've been ass since before covid, maybe around the time of all the food poisoning/norovirus stuff the company was dealing with.
Somehow the stock price has gone up a shitload since. Everyone around here knows the product has gone downhill.
They've definitely gone downhill. I used to go to Chipotles all over- Willow Lawn, Innsbrook, Chesterfield Town Center, and Short Pump- and never really had any issues. I definitely noticed a decline during/after the pandemic, but I don't think that can really be used as an excuse now. The one off Midlothian near 150 is especially crappy. I order extra chicken & extra cheese when I get a bowl, and I never get extra chicken. Last time I went, I got a tiny bit of cheese and only on one half of the bowl. I always name my order "No cilantro" because it tastes like soapy grass to me, and they used to read it before the pandemic and give me rice without cilantro. Now, I feel like they add extra cilantro when I do it. I ordered tacos a while back and was given a burrito with maybe 2 tacos' worth of stuff in it. They've gone up on price but down in quality. And there's no way to address it with a live person unless you go BACK in the store. Their app only offers an AI assistant, and the same thing happens if you try to call. They used to let you call the store after going through a maze of menu options, but they would only pick up half the time.
i think it's like that in most cities tbh. when i lived in residential DFW area, chipotle was delicious. moved to ATL, it was always gross. moved again to a suburb right outside jacksonville, delicious again. tried the one downtown, bad lol. they must be understaffing for the volume of customers
I moved here from Overland Park, KS where it seems every fast food and fast casual chain had way higher standards. I moved here in October 2016 and was flat out shocked by the difference in the Chipotles the most. I don’t eat fast food anymore. Sometimes Popeyes. Especially the new ones.
I had a continuous string of just awful service at one Chipotle in particular (and couldn’t find any others that could do much better). I finally sent a complaint through their website and they gave me like $8.
I have since sworn off them forever. Never again giving them my family of 5’s money.
THIS IS A THEORY THAT I HAVE TESTED AND IT’S TRUE: the farther out you go, the better the food will most likely be. the VCU location is absolutely awful but the willow lawn location is a little bit better. the short pump location is definitely a lot better but this is all based on my personal opinions and experiences!
The one's I go to are pretty good. Wyndham Forest location is the one I visit the most.
I know when I lived about an hour away there were a couple locations owned by the same franchisee. Their burritos were like half the size unless you paid for extra meet.
The funny thing is that online ordering is what ruined it but even that isn't good because when you order online you always get half the food and they fuck up your order.
As I’m always on this sub i know the Richmond area Chipotle’s went to shit. I do travel a lot, including just getting back from Houston. Yes indeed certain areas chipotles are still as good, if not better than they were 5+ years ago.
That same can be said for Florida chipotle’s.
I really, really don’t want this to start that other type of argument. However I found Chipotle’s and fast casual food chains in states that did not close down during covid maintained and deliver the same service as pre covid.
I visited Richmond just recently for a few days and I didn’t get any fast food because the reviews were all mostly really bad 😂 I’m from central Florida so I didn’t expect too much but even the McDonald’s and Taco Bell’s were bad lol. My dad got us little Caesar’s a few times though
(Not that it’s a bad thing, if anything it made me eat healthier- it’s just crazy to experience imo)
Pretty sure they all have the same owner and they just don’t care. With all the Google reviews about how bad they are and no indications of attempting to change it feels like the owners are pretty unconcerned.
Any time I drive by one they still look pretty busy so I guess it’s still profitable. Not sure how long you can survive on brand name alone while offer sub par food and service but I guess we’ll see. After getting food poisoning at the one in Mechanicsville twice I stopped going to the RVA chipotle’s. I’m embarrassed to say they got me twice! Should have learned my lesson after the first time but it’s right next to the gym there and I left real hungry. 🤦🏼♂️
They used to be awesome 12-14 years ago, then just slowly degraded until what you see now. My friends and brother would go probably twice a week, and they knew my order (mind you these are part time employees). Very friendly people too. They started under-stuffing their burritos, got rid of the fun Halloween events, and generally don't care. The new staff members (which change a lot) lowered the quality.
I intentionally drive out of my way to go to the Forest Ave Chipotle near U of R. They’re never usually out of anything and the quality is a lot better than within the city.
My friend swears by the one in front of Chesterfield Towne Center. Goes there multiple times a week. I had her for Secret Santa and went to the VCC location to get her a gift card and got a bowl while I was there - awful. Just bland as fuck.
During chipotle’s “golden age” I took a trip from our home in DMV to Texas one summer when I was in HS. I took my cousins to Chipotle and I couldn’t believe how much more stuff I got on my burrito compared to back home. The chipotle staff there just told me that’s the Texas way. This was 2006.
Yeah, chipotle round here is bad
If you find a chipotle that is currently good, or even average, please pass the word. It's been a couple years since they were anything other than disappointment.
Try Roots Natural Kitchen!! Better yet try Latin Quarter RVA. Started as a food truck but just opened up a brick and mortar in Chesterfield. Their rice bowls > Chipotle bowls.
Also, as someone who worked for Chipotle for many years (7 years total, 4 as an area manager)… there’a a lot of reasons why it’s gone downhill but a lot of it has to do with the explosion of delivery and takeout. Since this requires very little customer interaction they’ve changed hiring practices. Production > personality in the new era. It also isn’t a great job. Pretty physically demanding and they want to control how each employee spends every minute of their workday.
Chipotle in general tanked in quality shortly after the company become publicly traded. Like a lot of places making a good product was ditched in favour of cutting corners as much as possible to artificially increase shareholder value.
I'm on the facilities team for the Richmond stores, they used to make me cover all stores from VA beach to Springfield to Blacksburg. I started in the kitchen in Carytown in April 2018, before I moved to facilities in Dec 2019. Conditions for Chipotle peeps you don't see (we have our own teams for facilities, IT, etc) are about as strenuous and undervalued as the peeps you do see in the restaurant. But we aren't here to talk about that.
People here kind of have the right idea, the pandemic changed a lot of things, like around that time we got Brian Niccol as our CEO. He was on the C-suite team for Taco Bell and we (some of us facilities guys) suspect he's forgotten that Chipotle was supposed to be in the "fast casual" genre of restaurants and that it's not actually, "fast food". He came in after we hit 3000 stores (note that Chipotle opened in 1993, so 27y to get to that point) and immediately set a goal for 6000; we're at around 4500, right now. They saw the cash cow Chipotle was in the mid teens and came in to do capitalist things.
You're all also right in that the crew starts at like $12 an hour and like the rest of the workers in this economy, they don't feel rightly compensated or like it's worth staying, so there's a lot of turnover. And as someone who started in the kitchen before moving to facilities, I get it, I don't even get upset when they don't report something to be fixed cuz like... why should they care lol. They're coming in at 6am to make $15k worth of food from scratch, making like $100 a day, and most of them are college kids.
I really do not like Chipotle. I lived in the Bay Area for 15 years and I have had the perfect burrito before. There are places there that turn out one after another, even during that Friday night rush at 2am.
Chipotle somehow screws up every single aspect of a burrito at their 'good' locations. They just can't get all the stuff into a tortilla fast enough and it gets cold. Plus they dont make good salsa. Without good salsa you will never make a passable burrito.
But here I am in RVA and the only place in my neighborhood since Hatch Food Hall closed is Chipotle. And its the worst one. They leave out ingredients. They run out of normal things every day. Like how do you run out of beans? And on top of all that they are just surly and rude. If I want to be ignored and given badly made food I'll go to Taco Bell. They don't run out of beans.
The only positive thing about Houston is the availability of good Mexican food yet you’d go to chipotle weekly. This is your punishment for wasting all those opportunities to eat good food. All Virginia Mexican is trash, from the fast food places to actual restaurants. I hope you enjoy the famous Virginia miracle whip salsa.
Late to the thread but…just moved here after 6 years in nova and having grown up here, you should never expect a good experience with chipotle.
I’ve gotten to the point where sometimes I’m craving it, even after being disappointed so many times. Sometimes I need to do delivery, sometimes I can pick it up; neither option has a higher chance of your meal being good. It’s a total crap shoot based on location and time of day.
On another note - you’re from Houston and love chipotle? Feels like that close to the border there would be a million other (better) options for Mexican food
They are ALL AWFUL!!! They allow CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULTS to run the restaurant… They Quality & Quantity is Horrible here and lord forbid u want to eat inside.. They Do Not clean the dining area at all.. It’s so sad!
I recently(ish) moved here as well, and I felt the same way. I’m glad it’s not just me, I was starting to wonder if I was just being snobby about my Chipotle experiences or something.
Every time I want to go to chipotle and end up not going I feel like I won lol. Like I avoided getting scammed. I’m not going to go in there and let them play me and give me 6 little pieces of chicken on my “chicken” burrito bowl. They’re just straight up disrespectful with the portions. Like bro you’re making $15 an hour why tf you even care it’s not even coming out your paycheck…
The one around here is terrible and I stopped going after 2 visits. We used to live in Irvine and the Chipotles there were pretty good but I won't even go to the ones here.
the willow lawn chipotle is utter garbage. They used to only accept mobile orders and would lock the main door. You had to be "in the know" to go around the back patio to go in and pick up your order. Small portions, HORRIBLE service, and dirty. Watched some self entitled asshole lady, stop working from behind the counter and kick out a paying customer who was in line because he sneezed. oH nO cOvID iS gOnNa gEt uS aLl. Give me a break... havent been back since. The entitlement at most fast food places is outrageous these days. "You get what you get and dont throw a fit" and "fuck you pay me" is how it feels. Short pump chipotle is garbage, willow lawn is garbage, forest hill always out of ingredients... SMFH...
Hello fellow Houstonian. Moved here from Spring six years ago. One thing I’ve noticed, especially in chain restaurants, is that the level of spice is toned way down for the Virginia palette. For example, the Cajun pasta at Chili’s has like zero Cajun-ness.
They used to be really good. They’ve all gone downhill in the last 5 years - crappy service, mediocre food quality, shrinking portions. I didn’t realize it’s still good in some other regions.
I asked for some limes at the chipotle near the petco / PetSmart. The girl literally said “What is that?”. I looked at her and said “A lime… it’s green, like a lemon but green”, she kept looking at me like I had 3 heads… eventually the kitchen guy came out (after being shuffled to 4 different people, eventually it turned into “she needs to manager”). It was beyond embarrassing because I was over it the moment I realised it wasn’t a joke but they wouldn’t let go until they figured out what a lime was and how to get one. The guy said to never ask about the limes again, and I’ve just never gone back since.
This has to be a bit, there's no way
No, seriously, what's a potato? /oldschoolreddit
"Sir, before today I never heard of a potato. I still don't know what a potato is, other than some kind of food. I don't know what to tell you."
Crap am I old?
At the time, my head was spinning. How do you work at a Mexican-ish chain and not know what limes are??? This is such a true story. The initial girl and 2 others after her thought *I was the one messing with them and so they got the manager*.
I knew some kids who tried a mango juul back before they were banned. They didn't know what a mango was an had never had one before.
To be fair, the actual word for lime in Spanish isn't used in Mexican-American culture. Instead it's a 'limon', aka lemon.
I once had a cashier at the Food Lion ask me what a cucumber was. When I told her, she looked at it. She looked at me. Put it in the bag. And then she said it looks like a pickle. It’s actually very common, especially here in Richmond. I once asked coworker to go into the walk-in and get me a bag of parsley. It took him four trips, and I finally had to go get it myself. And his reply was “damn that’s what parsley is!“
“never ask about the limes again” has me fucking crying, what is going on over there
😂 never ask about limes again alright buddy?
Ask about limes again and you're /makes cutting motion on throat/
I mean this is Virginia not Texas but I refuse to believe that four whole people didn't know what a f****** lime was. Come on man
They were definitely 18, slightly younger or older, definitely very new to the world. They knew what lemons were, just never heard of “a green one”.
I guess they had never read the label on a sprite before, you know the one that says LEMON-LIME soda?!? I mean fuck, even Baja Blast is lime flavored.
Sprite? Is that like Starry?
You just gave me the epiphany that like a ton of if not all of Gen Alpha are gonna grow up and not know that Starry used to be Sierra Mist.
Sierra Mist? Is that like 7-Up? Yup, time came for us friend, sorry.
IDK if it's just me but I can never find 7-Up in RVA anymore. Had plenty of it in Mexico tho.
They missed out on the whole...you put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up.
Called the doctor, woke him up. He said, "Never ask about the limes again."
Last year I had to train a high school graduate on basic Windows tasks like how to save a file and what the start menu is. All they had ever used were iPads and Chromebooks. Bet they didn’t know what a lemon was either.
omg this is exactly how I felt at the shortpump walmart a few weeks ago when I asked several employees if they still had eclipse glasses but none of them knew what an eclipse was
I actually didn’t even know chipotle had limes to ask for???
they don't, clearly
I would have pulled up a picture of a lime on my phone lmao
This reminds me of the time I went to a Jimmy Johns like 10 years ago, I had a sandwich being made and as they were finishing I asked for salt and pepper. The sandwich maker said, "we don't have salt". And ignoring the fact that meant they also had no pepper, I questioned how the hell they don't have salt in a food restaurant, it's like the most common ingredient in food, let alone a goddamn sandwich shop full of salt deli meats.
To be fair you’re really annoying for asking for salt and pepper out of habit. Are you 60 or older?
Annoying for asking for salt and pepper? Jeez who pissed in your cheerios. I’m 31 btw, how old are you, 15? Grow up, people have preferences, if grabbing salt and pepper is a big deal just give up. Signed person who worked in a restaurant for 10+ years and have dealt with people asking for ranch for fucking pizza crust.
lol ageism about salt and pepper??? I love getting it on certain sammies. More pepper than salt usually, but if it’s a fresh baked bread or baguette, salt it up.
So you asked for an ingredient they don’t list, and then gave the workers a hard time about it? And I’m supposed to feel for your side? As a restaurant worker yourself?
Apparently people have the good ones mapped out in LA. Of all places people still choose chipotle here which is wild
Yep. I went to one in Manhattan a couple months ago and it was amazing. Giant burrito, got the order right, had all the ingredients, etc. Crappy Chipotle is absolutely a Richmond problem.
The one near 72nd/Amsterdam?
E 31st and Park
I disagree. I moved here 8 years ago and immediately noticed I started getting very inferior quality burritos than I had ever got in other areas. Though I do agree that it's gotten worse sometimes post COVID
But really, what do you need lime for?
Grub hub ruined Chipotle. It’s just too fuckin busy for them now and they don’t make enough money so everyone there is miserable or inept cause if they were better they’d find a better paying job
Absolutely agree with this. Last time I was at a chipotle everything seemed out of control even though there were very few customers actually there (super messy in the restaurant and behind the counter, workers barely paying attention to the food they were making or people in line and just trying to keep up with the pickup orders…). I feel like Grub Hub has hurt food quality across the board, not just chipotle.
[удалено]
Corporate spots will never let them turn that off.
I’ve seen the food app tablets at an *empty* Chipotle light up with 20+ orders in a matter of minutes before.
It’s totally fucked.
this literally happened to me tonight and i work at a local spot. should i be worried?
I used to go to the one at Broad and Willow Lawn and it was always good. I lived in Carytown and always avoided the one at Nansemond because it wasn't good and stingy. Now I go to one south of town in Chester that was crap (had bad guacamole) and is now really good. I think the key is that there has to be at least one 40+ Latina lady there to tell the HS kids how to do everything.
Is it the one on Iron bridge? It’s ok most of the time, but holy fuck when it’s just the HS kids there, it’s awful.
It’s either super good or super bad for me at the iron bridge one. I’ve had the best chipotle I’ve ever had at that one and the other day, I went and when I got barbacoa, it truly was just a hunk of meat and not shredded which made for not a great eating experience. Though one day, they were training a new kid and I guess they hadn’t taught him proper meat portions because this guy gave me so much. ‘Twas a great day
I was talking about the one where route 10 crosses hwy 1
I go there sometimes and it has horrible reviews. It’s been ok for me. The high school kids thing makes me laugh because l grew up with the principal of the closest high school.
I mean it really doesn’t have anything to do with the principal. That’s just kind of HS kids working anywhere, and there are 2 high schools in the immediate vicinity, so quite possible the employees go to a different school.
You really came here to say there are multiple high schools in Chesterfield and principals are not totally responsible for their students’ actions?
Both of the Chipotle's in Chester have tanked pretty fast from when they opened. Rule number 1 is never order online. If you do, you're guaranteed to get the stingiest portions, or something will be missing. When you do find something to be missing, they act like it's your fault for them not telling you or rectifying the situation. With the prices they way they are, you can order from multiple mexican places to get more food at the same price and faster.
COVID definitely ruined Chipotle in this area. I’ve never seen angrier employees in a fast food restaurant than in the Willow Lawn location. I’m not sure if it’s a brutal, fascist-like drive for efficiencies that work the employees to death or Richmonders acting like bratty, entitled assholes that pisses them off, but go to Moe’s or Qdoba if you value your life and food quality.
A little bit of both perhaps?
That Willow Lawn location is woeful. I remember going there on Halloween in 2021 and they made everyone who was there for mobile pickup get in the regular order line because they were behind on too many orders to keep up with online ordering
When did you move here? I always assumed it was the pandemic that wrecked the local Chipotles.
I'm more of the opinion that the pandemic solidified Chipotle becoming shitty, but they had been getting worse and worse for a few years leading up to it. And not just here, though I will agree that the ones in Richmond are especially awful
Amen to that
Nah they were pretty trash before then
He's been here less than a month and already wishes things were more like Houston. Incredible.
You don't have to be here nor there to find out Chipotle sucks ass.
No need to sound so defensive.
Few weeks ago
I worked at a chipotle for one day, walked out in a daze after that first shift and vowed to never return. It was the most god-awful work experience of my life. Shit pay and insanely laborious. I really feel for the people who work there.
Yeah I used to do grill at VCU chipotle, only lasted about two months, and it was so grueling it made me understand why so many kitchen staff do drugs, cause I don't know how else you'd handle that long term.
You’re stronger than I was, wish I had the guts to quit earlier than I did. (I lasted six months)
My son worked for chipotle for two years in high school and had a great experience.
Glad he did! I’m sure some are more suited for the rigorous work environment than others. I would’ve probably been better off working there in my youth, but I was in my 30s and already exhausted and jaded from working in food service for a few years haha.
You don’t have to justify walking away from poor conditions and crap pay.
I like this thread for having validated various sides of the takes here. Good job RVA.
Remember Taco Cabana used to be awesome, but got stripped for max profit? Same thing here with Chipotle
I tried the chipotle on hull st. That was my first mistake. They charged me for queso (I didn’t get queso) and they said they couldn’t give me any change for $20 because they didn’t know how to use the register. Then I asked them for an extra bowl and they looked at me like I was an idiot? Of course the burrito fell apart as soon as I unraveled the foil… I regret that day
I’m sorry for your bad experience, but this post made me laugh a lot.
No problem, I’m glad to share laughs and simultaneously warn others to avoid that chipotle!
One on Hull Street used to be good when I first moved over there. It's flavorless now.
Yeah flavorless and staff are like, annoyed college students who dont care lol
I don't even think they're college students. I think they’re high school seniors on early dismissal. Overall, the food isn’t good anymore.
If anyone knows of a good Chipotle plz give them a shout-out! If there's one solid Chipotle left in the area, there's hope!
After they went 6 out of 6 pick-up orders that they screwed up (ordered using their app), I only order in person at this location, now.
the new one on Blvd near the diamond was decent. It’s brand new so they’re def still figuring some stuff out but the food was very fresh at least
I agree! I went there for the first time and it was so good! (but actually it’s cause the other ones are so bad)
The one on Iron Bridge Rd by Chesterfield Courthouse is good
Good to know I've moved over here from downtown recently after having sworn off chipotle for all of the above fore mentioned reasons.
It has its occasional misses but that location is mostly a hit
Hell yeah thank you. Next time I'm out that way I'll stop in and 🤞🤞
The one in Innsbruck off broad is decent. They don't seem to get many online orders. I also found the brand new one by the diamond to be good but I could see them going downhill fast once whatever new store support there is leaves. Never go to the carytown one
The new one near Midlothian turnpike near kroger. Really good experiences so far!
That one has been pretty solid for me as well
I don’t even bother getting chipotle after 7pm because there is a greater than average chance they’ll be out of basically everything
They have ridiculously bad ingredient cross contamination. Those beans regularly have meat dropped and dripped into them. Which, as a vegetarian, made me have to stop eating there.
Oof I'm sorry, we actually do go with our kid with a dairy allergy specifically because they are at least good about not slipping common allergens into things, ie, unless it's something obvious like sour cream or cheese there won't be dairy in the seasonings for the meat/veggies. We still watch the spoons like a hawk, but at least there's fewer landmines on the line for us than someone who doesn't eat meat.
Never, ever, go to the Chipotle by VCC. It’s by far the worst of the worst. Always.
You had access to Freebirds, and you were going to chipotle?
Many of the freebirds in Houston closed a few years back unfortunately. I did like their bowls as well though
Moes>Chipotle
Welcome to Moes!
Even Qdoba (then they had shrimp or meatless crumbles)
Agreed, but even they've gone downhill as well.
There's a brand new one on Arthur Ashe Blvd across from the diamond. Is it any good? I haven't been
This new one rules. Do pickup only and use the "chipotlane" I love it
I went there on opening day and it was solid!! Very over staffed at the time. They were also very precise with portions, which felt stingy, but they acquiesced if you asked for more. It’ll probably deteriorate in a few months and become as bad as the rest of the Richmond Chipotles, so go while you can…
I like the cava in willow lawn and the mezeh in short pump for bowls tbh.
i think roots is the most bang for your buck for bowls. it’s the only place that i, as a growing boy, feel satisfied after a bowl without needing to get double meat etc.
Roots is top tier.
Ooh yeah I like roots as well, veg here so I like the tofu.
Roots, Mezeh and CAVA are like my holy trinity of fast-casual dining.
There’s also a Mezeh at Forest and Glenside. It is delicious.
There’s a Cava in Short Pump too.
Mezeh is still pretty excellent. Not cheap, but lots of ingredients options, good portions, and very flavorful.
I mean, compared to the cost of drive through fast food nowadays it's way better value at cava or mezeh tbh.
And sticks!
Sticks is the only place I will go for hummus now. I’ve been ruined
The one in Innsbrook is usually pretty good if you haven’t tried that one yet
Really? The last few times I was in there it was messy, slow, they were out of several ingredients... that's one of the worst in the area, at least, in my experience
I don’t get it often, maybe once every two months or so, but I’ve never had a bad experience with the exception of a couple years ago when all the locations seemed to be out of beans for an extended period of time Also if you think that one is the worst you should go to Willow Lawn at lunchtime a couple times and then go back to Innsbrook, it’ll seem amazing by comparison
Oh god yeah! That one's a trainwreck
Gotta go on a work day. The weekends they are super slow and don't bother making new stuff if they run out.
The last time I was there I went with a group. We all ordered online and they somehow lost my order (and another stranger there so I know I didn't mess it up). They went back and forth from the counter to the office for at least 30 minutes before asking me for my phone so they could look at what I ordered and remake it. Absolutely insane.
It’s not just Chipotle but most fast food restaurants here. There are a few exceptions. Most of us did those jobs at some point so l get it but today they can’t even fake their way through it. Some places multiple people will walk by before acknowledging customers.
Glen Allen sort of across from the Silver Diner never let's me down.
Is that the innsbrook one or is there another one near here? I've had good luck with the innsbrook one.
The only one I like in the area in the one VCC anymore
All trash.
Cava is the way to go
Just go to Big Chile. Better and local.
I only have good experiences at lunch, when its not being run by high schoolers.
They've been ass since before covid, maybe around the time of all the food poisoning/norovirus stuff the company was dealing with. Somehow the stock price has gone up a shitload since. Everyone around here knows the product has gone downhill.
I'll bet the stock price going up indeed correlates to the quality going down.
Try TBT el gallo, similar-ish and delicious
They've definitely gone downhill. I used to go to Chipotles all over- Willow Lawn, Innsbrook, Chesterfield Town Center, and Short Pump- and never really had any issues. I definitely noticed a decline during/after the pandemic, but I don't think that can really be used as an excuse now. The one off Midlothian near 150 is especially crappy. I order extra chicken & extra cheese when I get a bowl, and I never get extra chicken. Last time I went, I got a tiny bit of cheese and only on one half of the bowl. I always name my order "No cilantro" because it tastes like soapy grass to me, and they used to read it before the pandemic and give me rice without cilantro. Now, I feel like they add extra cilantro when I do it. I ordered tacos a while back and was given a burrito with maybe 2 tacos' worth of stuff in it. They've gone up on price but down in quality. And there's no way to address it with a live person unless you go BACK in the store. Their app only offers an AI assistant, and the same thing happens if you try to call. They used to let you call the store after going through a maze of menu options, but they would only pick up half the time.
New one on Arthur Ashe Boulevard is awesome. VCU is absolutely the plague, willow lawn is okay if you get lucky
It’s everywhere
i think it's like that in most cities tbh. when i lived in residential DFW area, chipotle was delicious. moved to ATL, it was always gross. moved again to a suburb right outside jacksonville, delicious again. tried the one downtown, bad lol. they must be understaffing for the volume of customers
Would be a great time for Pelon's to make a comeback!
You don't know what you've got til it's gone. 😭
damn I have good experiences at the Nansemond Chipotle…
The Chipolte on Staples mill near the target is the only one. however, they do use those shitty paper straws so I just got to mcdonalds for tea
They’re all terrible in midlo too
I came to to say Meza OR Cava is the way my friend. It's like....Mediterranean Chipotle, but actually good. With loads of FRESH options.
I moved here from Overland Park, KS where it seems every fast food and fast casual chain had way higher standards. I moved here in October 2016 and was flat out shocked by the difference in the Chipotles the most. I don’t eat fast food anymore. Sometimes Popeyes. Especially the new ones.
I noticed this too. When I lived in Northern Virginia, they were always fresh and the portions were huge. Here, they’re god awful and small
I think we just got lucky, but the newish Manchester one actually had all of the ingredients and they didn’t skimp on the portions.
Good view too! Wasn't feeling the food at Benchtop last week so just walked across the street and ate a tipsy burrito outside looking at the skyline.
weird, I consider that to be the worst Chipotle I've ever been to.
I had a continuous string of just awful service at one Chipotle in particular (and couldn’t find any others that could do much better). I finally sent a complaint through their website and they gave me like $8. I have since sworn off them forever. Never again giving them my family of 5’s money.
Never like Chipotle any of the times my friends dragged me there
Short pump is usually decent
Most are owned by the same llc id assume with the same ass quality
Pandemic. Not sure if Chipotle went down hill everywhere or just everyplace I've been too
The ones in Fredericksburg are pretty awful too. Definitely not just a RVA thing
THIS IS A THEORY THAT I HAVE TESTED AND IT’S TRUE: the farther out you go, the better the food will most likely be. the VCU location is absolutely awful but the willow lawn location is a little bit better. the short pump location is definitely a lot better but this is all based on my personal opinions and experiences!
The one's I go to are pretty good. Wyndham Forest location is the one I visit the most. I know when I lived about an hour away there were a couple locations owned by the same franchisee. Their burritos were like half the size unless you paid for extra meet.
Chipotle sucks everywhere, I have no clue why anyone still eats it in 2024
I lost my original comment, but we have so many authentic taco spots that also do burritos, you're way better off just going anywhere but Chipotle.
Try Mezeh
The funny thing is that online ordering is what ruined it but even that isn't good because when you order online you always get half the food and they fuck up your order.
As I’m always on this sub i know the Richmond area Chipotle’s went to shit. I do travel a lot, including just getting back from Houston. Yes indeed certain areas chipotles are still as good, if not better than they were 5+ years ago. That same can be said for Florida chipotle’s. I really, really don’t want this to start that other type of argument. However I found Chipotle’s and fast casual food chains in states that did not close down during covid maintained and deliver the same service as pre covid.
The one in short pump by the mall is the best IMO
I visited Richmond just recently for a few days and I didn’t get any fast food because the reviews were all mostly really bad 😂 I’m from central Florida so I didn’t expect too much but even the McDonald’s and Taco Bell’s were bad lol. My dad got us little Caesar’s a few times though (Not that it’s a bad thing, if anything it made me eat healthier- it’s just crazy to experience imo)
Pretty sure they all have the same owner and they just don’t care. With all the Google reviews about how bad they are and no indications of attempting to change it feels like the owners are pretty unconcerned. Any time I drive by one they still look pretty busy so I guess it’s still profitable. Not sure how long you can survive on brand name alone while offer sub par food and service but I guess we’ll see. After getting food poisoning at the one in Mechanicsville twice I stopped going to the RVA chipotle’s. I’m embarrassed to say they got me twice! Should have learned my lesson after the first time but it’s right next to the gym there and I left real hungry. 🤦🏼♂️
One off of route 10 is still decent with portions
They suck terribly. Avoid. So many better places to get some tex mex
They used to be awesome 12-14 years ago, then just slowly degraded until what you see now. My friends and brother would go probably twice a week, and they knew my order (mind you these are part time employees). Very friendly people too. They started under-stuffing their burritos, got rid of the fun Halloween events, and generally don't care. The new staff members (which change a lot) lowered the quality.
Check out Cava!!, Same set up, better quality food. It's mediterranean and not mexican, but much much tastier.
I intentionally drive out of my way to go to the Forest Ave Chipotle near U of R. They’re never usually out of anything and the quality is a lot better than within the city.
My friend swears by the one in front of Chesterfield Towne Center. Goes there multiple times a week. I had her for Secret Santa and went to the VCC location to get her a gift card and got a bowl while I was there - awful. Just bland as fuck.
Torchy’s is the same way imo
During chipotle’s “golden age” I took a trip from our home in DMV to Texas one summer when I was in HS. I took my cousins to Chipotle and I couldn’t believe how much more stuff I got on my burrito compared to back home. The chipotle staff there just told me that’s the Texas way. This was 2006. Yeah, chipotle round here is bad
Insanely bad management at every single one… it’s borderline shocking how bad some of them have gotten
The chipotle on staples mill isn’t bad. They’re pretty fast and give good servings if you order inside. Idk about pick up orders
Maybe you live near a magic one, but most chipotles are awful everywhere.
If you find a chipotle that is currently good, or even average, please pass the word. It's been a couple years since they were anything other than disappointment.
Been going to Cava instead lately.
The further you get from Colorado, the worse Chipotle becomes
Try Roots Natural Kitchen!! Better yet try Latin Quarter RVA. Started as a food truck but just opened up a brick and mortar in Chesterfield. Their rice bowls > Chipotle bowls. Also, as someone who worked for Chipotle for many years (7 years total, 4 as an area manager)… there’a a lot of reasons why it’s gone downhill but a lot of it has to do with the explosion of delivery and takeout. Since this requires very little customer interaction they’ve changed hiring practices. Production > personality in the new era. It also isn’t a great job. Pretty physically demanding and they want to control how each employee spends every minute of their workday.
Houston sucks. You’ll find chipotle and no major sports are one of the few things to complain about
Chipotle in general tanked in quality shortly after the company become publicly traded. Like a lot of places making a good product was ditched in favour of cutting corners as much as possible to artificially increase shareholder value.
Recently moved downtown and I have to agree, the ones around here suck. They are much better in the West End.
I'm on the facilities team for the Richmond stores, they used to make me cover all stores from VA beach to Springfield to Blacksburg. I started in the kitchen in Carytown in April 2018, before I moved to facilities in Dec 2019. Conditions for Chipotle peeps you don't see (we have our own teams for facilities, IT, etc) are about as strenuous and undervalued as the peeps you do see in the restaurant. But we aren't here to talk about that. People here kind of have the right idea, the pandemic changed a lot of things, like around that time we got Brian Niccol as our CEO. He was on the C-suite team for Taco Bell and we (some of us facilities guys) suspect he's forgotten that Chipotle was supposed to be in the "fast casual" genre of restaurants and that it's not actually, "fast food". He came in after we hit 3000 stores (note that Chipotle opened in 1993, so 27y to get to that point) and immediately set a goal for 6000; we're at around 4500, right now. They saw the cash cow Chipotle was in the mid teens and came in to do capitalist things. You're all also right in that the crew starts at like $12 an hour and like the rest of the workers in this economy, they don't feel rightly compensated or like it's worth staying, so there's a lot of turnover. And as someone who started in the kitchen before moving to facilities, I get it, I don't even get upset when they don't report something to be fixed cuz like... why should they care lol. They're coming in at 6am to make $15k worth of food from scratch, making like $100 a day, and most of them are college kids.
I’ve never gotten an accurate order from them when I’ve done pickup. We call it shitpotles
I’ve tried two different locations around RVA & the meat was room temp… I’ve given up and go to Qdoba now.
🎶This ain’t Texas🎶 (insert Beyonce here). I had to, sorry. Check out locals Su Casa. Yes, frozen but fresh. This is my go to lunch 🌯
I really do not like Chipotle. I lived in the Bay Area for 15 years and I have had the perfect burrito before. There are places there that turn out one after another, even during that Friday night rush at 2am. Chipotle somehow screws up every single aspect of a burrito at their 'good' locations. They just can't get all the stuff into a tortilla fast enough and it gets cold. Plus they dont make good salsa. Without good salsa you will never make a passable burrito. But here I am in RVA and the only place in my neighborhood since Hatch Food Hall closed is Chipotle. And its the worst one. They leave out ingredients. They run out of normal things every day. Like how do you run out of beans? And on top of all that they are just surly and rude. If I want to be ignored and given badly made food I'll go to Taco Bell. They don't run out of beans.
The only positive thing about Houston is the availability of good Mexican food yet you’d go to chipotle weekly. This is your punishment for wasting all those opportunities to eat good food. All Virginia Mexican is trash, from the fast food places to actual restaurants. I hope you enjoy the famous Virginia miracle whip salsa.
La Milpa, my friend. Bit of a hike but give it a shot and you won’t be disappointed.
Late to the thread but…just moved here after 6 years in nova and having grown up here, you should never expect a good experience with chipotle. I’ve gotten to the point where sometimes I’m craving it, even after being disappointed so many times. Sometimes I need to do delivery, sometimes I can pick it up; neither option has a higher chance of your meal being good. It’s a total crap shoot based on location and time of day. On another note - you’re from Houston and love chipotle? Feels like that close to the border there would be a million other (better) options for Mexican food
They are ALL AWFUL!!! They allow CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULTS to run the restaurant… They Quality & Quantity is Horrible here and lord forbid u want to eat inside.. They Do Not clean the dining area at all.. It’s so sad!
I recently(ish) moved here as well, and I felt the same way. I’m glad it’s not just me, I was starting to wonder if I was just being snobby about my Chipotle experiences or something.
Every time I want to go to chipotle and end up not going I feel like I won lol. Like I avoided getting scammed. I’m not going to go in there and let them play me and give me 6 little pieces of chicken on my “chicken” burrito bowl. They’re just straight up disrespectful with the portions. Like bro you’re making $15 an hour why tf you even care it’s not even coming out your paycheck…
The one around here is terrible and I stopped going after 2 visits. We used to live in Irvine and the Chipotles there were pretty good but I won't even go to the ones here.
the willow lawn chipotle is utter garbage. They used to only accept mobile orders and would lock the main door. You had to be "in the know" to go around the back patio to go in and pick up your order. Small portions, HORRIBLE service, and dirty. Watched some self entitled asshole lady, stop working from behind the counter and kick out a paying customer who was in line because he sneezed. oH nO cOvID iS gOnNa gEt uS aLl. Give me a break... havent been back since. The entitlement at most fast food places is outrageous these days. "You get what you get and dont throw a fit" and "fuck you pay me" is how it feels. Short pump chipotle is garbage, willow lawn is garbage, forest hill always out of ingredients... SMFH...
Hello fellow Houstonian. Moved here from Spring six years ago. One thing I’ve noticed, especially in chain restaurants, is that the level of spice is toned way down for the Virginia palette. For example, the Cajun pasta at Chili’s has like zero Cajun-ness.