We can teach people how to run a Chipotle. Steve Ells More Quotes by Steve Ells More Quotes From Steve Ells Our economic model allows us to invest a disproportionate amount in our food costs. We have a very efficient system: customers go through a single line, the people who serve you are the ones who make the food, and our menu board is not cluttered. Steve Ells go you food people My undergraduate degree was in art history! Raising money for Chipotle was really my MBA. The money for my first restaurant came from my dad, the second from mostly cash flow. The third was an SBA loan. After my dad invested $1.5 million to open a few more, he suggested I raise the money myself for the experience. Steve Ells myself money history art So much of today's food is based on the exploitation of animals and the environment. Yes, it's cheap, but at what cost? Steve Ells animals environment food today The first Chipotle was intended to be my source of funding for a full-scale restaurant, a means to an end. But it turned out to be more successful than I ever imagined. Steve Ells restaurant end more successful If we really want to change the way Americans eat, we need to make delicious, sustainably-raised food accessible to everyone. Most people are not willing to sacrifice taste or pay a lot more when it comes to eating better. That's why the Chipotle model is so important. Steve Ells sacrifice change food people The best Chipotle restaurant managers get the title 'restaurateur' and a $10,000 bonus for each person they hire who starts as crew and goes on to become a manager. Steve Ells manager person restaurant best After a two-year stint at Stars, I wanted to start my own full-service restaurant, but I didn't have the funds to do so, so I got a modest loan from my parents and opened Chipotle with the goal of having it fund that restaurant. Steve Ells restaurant parents my-own stars Chipotle was going to incorporate all the things I had learned at the Culinary Institute and Stars and really elevate typical fast food. Steve Ells things fast-food stars food When I told my friends and family that I was leaving Stars to open a burrito shop in Denver, they thought I was crazy, but not long after the success of the first Chipotle, I knew I had to open just one more, so I opened a second one on Colorado Boulevard, which turned out to be even busier than the first. Steve Ells family crazy stars success When I graduated from cooking school, I went to work at Stars, which was one of my favorite restaurants in the country at the time, and that's where I really learned to cook and to taste food in a discerning way. Steve Ells stars work time food I remember feeling a little guilty every time I opened a Chipotle. I felt guilty because I wasn't following my true passion. But that eventually went away. And I realized that this is my calling. Steve Ells feeling passion time remember Think about the systems at McDonald's. It's a very mechanized world, where you take out a highly processed patty. Steve Ells mcdonald think you world People were asking me all kinds of questions about the business, and I was initially put off. I was like, 'Just invest if you want to invest. Don't bother me.' Steve Ells me you business people