On Thursday, Chipotle's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Laurie Schalow, confirmed our worst fears: the fast casual Tex-Mex chain is raising its prices again.
"For the first time in over a year, we will be taking a modest price increase to offset inflation," she said in an email statement, according to USA Today. And, yes, while it's been over a year since they raised prices, what Schalow failed to mention is that it's the fourth time the company has done so in two years.
Chipotle's last increase looked like a $1 spike or more for menu items, while the chain also increased prices 3.5 to 4 percent in June 2021 and around 4 percent once again in the first quarter of 2022. Here's the thing, though: Chipotle actually has seen a 13.6 percent bump in revenue year over year in 2023.
Naturally, fans are pissed and have been speaking out about the price hikes (along with an alleged decline in quality) on social media.
"Can we talk about the downfall of Chipotle?" TikToker Jeanine Amapola said in a video before the price hike. "I was so desperate for food today and I was short on time so I went to Chipotle, which I never go to anymore, and [now] I feel like I know why."
Amapola went on to say that she paid $14 for a "little bowl" that used to cost her just $9, adding that "the quality is not there."
Other users similarly complained about the prices and quality. "Is it just me, or did @Chipotle quadruple their prices overnight," Makenna Silbernagel wrote in a TikTok of her own. "What are you putting in this shizzz to make it worth $20."
"I'm f*cking sick of this sh*t," another TikToker said, while writing in the caption that "Chipotle has gone down hill the past few years."
"Chipotle always SOUNDS good in my head and then I actually eat it and am let down," one user wrote in the comments of Amapola's video. "Anyone else remember 2012 Chipotle? Peak years," another added.
