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[ElectricBlanketFire]

Shares fell more than 5 percent after the news.

Chipotle says it temporarily shut down a restaurant in a Washington, D.C., suburb following reports of customers becoming ill, marking what could be a setback in the chain’s efforts to recover from past food scares.

The company says it shut down a location in Sterling, Virginia, on Monday after becoming aware of a “small number” of reported illnesses. It says it is working with health authorities to understand the cause, but the reported symptoms are consistent with norovirus. Chipotle says it plans to reopen the restaurant later Tuesday after a “complete sanitization.”

The Denver-based company notes that norovirus does not come from its food supply and it is safe to eat at its restaurants.

Chipotle has been working to bounce back from food scares that included an E. coli outbreak in the fall of 2015 and included a norovirus case in Boston later that year. The efforts have included tweaks to cooking procedures and training for employees to prevent such cases.

 

[Nothus]

How hard is it to make a burrito without poisoning someone?

 

[PandaPandaPanda]

Its still so surreal. I remember like ~5 years ago, the line at the Chipolte would be going out the door and then the first reports came in of people getting sick and it was a ghost town. While I haven't been able to go back to the same Chipolte(moved out of state) the one nearby was always pretty much empty except maybe 1-2 people.

But yeah, if you were one of the few people willing to give them another shot (I think I had a burrito ~4-5 months ago) they probably won't be coming back(I know I won't, not that I visite regularly anyway)

 

[Vyse The Legend]

Its still so surreal. I remember like ~5 years ago, the line at the Chipolte would be going out the door and then the first reports came in of people getting sick and it was a ghost town. While I haven't been able to go back to the same Chipolte(moved out of state) the one nearby was always pretty much empty except maybe 1-2 people.

Yeah, I used to eat there religiously but haven't in probably a year or so.

 

[TwoDurans]

How does this keep happening? Can't be unclean employees, right? Has to be where they're getting their meat or something

 

[whytemyke]

like, is there a reason this seems to happen more with Chipotle, or are people just hyper-aware of anytime it happens now?

Does it have something to do with the type of ingredients they use? (Non-GMO, I believe, and almost all natural/locally sourced/etc)

I just can't believe that a company trying so hard to avoid this stuff still has slip ups like this. Especially because they actually do seem to have their stuff together at the upper levels.

 

[Zoe]

How does this keep happening? Can't be unclean employees, right? Has to be where they're getting their meat or something

Norovirus would likely come from one of the employees.

Could have been a customer though.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

I had the norovirus a few years back. I lived on the toilet for 48 hours.

 

[norm9]

Wash your hands you disgusting apes.

 

[AlimNassor]

Huh, Chipotle is still busy near me. Still expensive for mediocre burritos. Maybe they'll drop the price now.

 

[louiedog]

like, is there a reason this seems to happen more with Chipotle, or are people just hyper-aware of anytime it happens now?

Does it have something to do with the type of ingredients they use? (Non-GMO, I believe, and almost all natural/locally sourced/etc)

I just can't believe that a company trying so hard to avoid this stuff still has slip ups like this. Especially because they actually do seem to have their stuff together at the upper levels.

It might be something about their supply chain, but being a national chain increases coverage, especially since it happened in the past. It's guaranteed to get eyeballs for anyone publishing the story. If it was a local taqueria with one location it'd be on local blogs and news but most likely wouldn't spread beyond unless something serious happened with it.

 

[capitalCORN]

These outbreaks are like clockwork. That's corporate consistency for you though!

 

[Skellig Gra]

How does this keep happening? Can't be unclean employees, right? Has to be where they're getting their meat or something

Norovirus would be a direct result of an unclean employee/store.

I had the norovirus a few years back. I lived on the toilet for 48 hours.

That shit is brutal. I got it after my 1 year old son had it. I could barely stand.

 

[InfiniteBento]

You get norovirus from contact with someones vomit or poop who has the virus aka that chipotle was a breeding ground for poop/vomit particles

🤢 Disgusting

 

[OnPoint]

I still eat at the local Chipotle's around these parts with no issues. It's my favorite quick restaurant. I'd be sad if this happened around here in such a way that locations would need to close down.

 

[legacyzero]

I almost wonder if it's due to fast food places like this not having a good policy for absences due to sickness. I worked at Taco Bell for six year a long time ago, and there constant cases where people came to work I'll because even being absent one or two days can put you in hot water at worst, or at the least, really screw over the staff for that shift you have to miss.

This country really needs paid sick leave.

 

[itwasTuesday]

Whoa, seriously was about to go there yesterday for some quac and carnitas. Seems the ones near me always have some issue going on.

 

[Skellig Gra]

I almost wonder if it's due to fast food places like this not having a good policy for absences due to sickness. I worked at Taco Bell for six year a long time ago, and there constant cases where people came to work I'll because even being absent one or two days can put you in hot water at worst, or at the least, really screw over the staff for that shift you have to miss.

This country really needs paid sick leave.

Maybe, but even if the employee had norovirus and showed up to work it still spread due to poor hygiene.

 

[captive]

How hard is it to make a burrito without poisoning someone?

norovirus is no joke, its highly infectious and even if you just had it you can get it again.

the hospital my wife used to work at had an outbreak of it, they literally had to put all patients on lockdown, bleach all surfaces every 3 hours. Stay home for 48 hours if you have it. Texas Department of Health had to come inspect and help control, i think they had something like 60 or 70% staff infection rate and 80% patient infection rate and Texas department of health said it those numbers were low, usually a lot worse.

 

[DJ88]

Its still so surreal. I remember like ~5 years ago, the line at the Chipolte would be going out the door and then the first reports came in of people getting sick and it was a ghost town. While I haven't been able to go back to the same Chipolte(moved out of state) the one nearby was always pretty much empty except maybe 1-2 people.

But yeah, if you were one of the few people willing to give them another shot (I think I had a burrito ~4-5 months ago) they probably won't be coming back(I know I won't, not that I visite regularly anyway)

Mine is still always packed.

The chances of it happeneing to you are so astronomically low that it's silly to to stop going because of it.

But hey, shorter lines for me though lol.

 

[C.Mongler]

Anyone know which Chipotle it is exactly? Asking as it could be one I go to fairly regularly...

 

[Divvy]

How hard is it to make a burrito without poisoning someone?

like, is there a reason this seems to happen more with Chipotle, or are people just hyper-aware of anytime it happens now?

Does it have something to do with the type of ingredients they use? (Non-GMO, I believe, and almost all natural/locally sourced/etc)

I just can't believe that a company trying so hard to avoid this stuff still has slip ups like this. Especially because they actually do seem to have their stuff together at the upper levels.

How does this keep happening? Can't be unclean employees, right? Has to be where they're getting their meat or something

Here's a really good longform article about Chipotle's struggles with keeping its food contaminant free

https://www.fastcompany.com/3064068/chipotle-eats-itself

It's a really good, albeit, long read.

 

[makingmusic476]

I got Norovirus at a festival two years back.

I could barely move to two days. When I did move, all I did was throw up or shit.

 

[Plumbob]

I love chipotle so this is somewhat disappointing.

I switched out my credit cards this year due to them getting hacked.

Will probably be back in a couple weeks though.

 

[tedrotheredro]

Awesome, short line for me today!

 

[cr0w]

Went in once after the initial health scare and my first bite of barbacoa was so filled with salt it was like chewing sand. I guess when they seasoned it they didn't mix it and just dumped the fucking salt in one spot, which is where they scooped my meat from.

Haven't been back. There are many other options nearby if I want a burrito.

On the norovirus topic, my wife got it bad a couple years back. At one point she was doing her best impression of the world's most fucked up rotary sprinkler between the toilet and the bathtub. It was horrible.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

I was at a Chipotle yesterday and I saw a health inspector there, he was taking the temperature of the food in containers up front.

 

[PandaPandaPanda]

Mine is still always packed.

The chances of it happeneing to you are so astronomically low that it's silly to to stop going because of it.

But hey, shorter lines for me though lol.

The one I used to go to was in a different state so I can't really compare since i'm not able to visit the location anymore. I have no idea if the one nearby was as busy back then, but i'll assume it had more traffic than it does now.

 

[Daedardus]

Norovirus is just the main virus responsible for diarrhoea, just like the influenza virus is responsible for the flu. The actual intensity of the virus can differ a lot from virus to virus, but it's usually very contagious and causes heavy diarrhoea, but is otherwise not life threatening.

An outbreak always makes it always seem like it is this very deadly virus, but it's usually from one of the employee not washing their hands properly or other hygiene deficiencies. Temporarily closing, cleaning and reopening the restaurant is the right call though.

 

[TwoDurans]

Norovirus is just the main virus responsible for diarrhoea, just like the influenza virus is responsible for the flu. The actual intensity of the virus can differ a lot from virus to virus, but it's usually very contagious and causes heavy diarrhoea, but is otherwise not life threatening.

An outbreak always makes it always seem like it is this very deadly virus, but it's usually from one of the employee not washing their hands properly or other hygiene deficiencies. Temporarily closing, cleaning and reopening the restaurant is the right call though.

Damn the woosah, captain. Are you saying people are injesting Chipotle employee poop particles?

 

[Kilvin]

I had the norovirus a few years back. I lived on the toilet for 48 hours.

I hear ya, there was an outbreak at my son's school a few years back. It's the sickest I've ever been.

 

[LionPride]

Again? God damn

 

[TheCochese]

Damn the woosah, captain. Are you saying people are injesting Chipotle employee poop particles?

I thought that was one of the toppings, right next to where you tip your credit card numbers.

 

[Slayer-33]

Good lord.. I love Chipotle but haven't been there in over a year (unrelated to these news bits)

 

[Nipo]

Would giving fast food workers paid time off help? Must suck having to come to work when you're feeling ill.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Why am I reading this thread while I eat lunch

Spoiler

not Chipotle

 

[Jgriff25]

BOGO burritos incoming.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

BOGO burritos incoming.

Sweet.

 

[captive]

when i had the norovirus and when my wife got it we both threw up more than we had diarrhoea

 

[Futureman]

Huh, Chipotle is still busy near me. Still expensive for mediocre burritos. Maybe they'll drop the price now.

~$7 for a massive burrito that's like 1,500 calories. Honestly might be the best calorie per dollar value at a fast food restaurant.

The ones near me also seem to be pretty busy still.

 

[Realeza]

The line server who rolls your burrito probably came from the restroom straight after wiping his ass. No washing hands.

 

[____]

The line server who rolls your burrito probably came from the restroom straight after wiping his ass. No washing hands.

This makes me shudder, but if that were the case, I think every fast food would have norovirus.

 

[RS4-]

lol such mediocre fucking food.

 

[Deepwater]

*whispers*

Spoiler

this doesn't happen at moes or qdoba

 

[sixteen-bit]

Eating @ Chipotle sounds like a real roll of the dice

 

[Seth Enosh]

Will be heading to chipotle for lunch in a bit.

As far as I know chipotle has sick leave and hand washing policies comparable to other fast casual restaurants, no particular reason to be concerned about this unless you ate at that specific location.

 

[ViviOggi]

Norovirus is no fun

 

[Nevasleep]

I almost wonder if it's due to fast food places like this not having a good policy for absences due to sickness. I worked at Taco Bell for six year a long time ago, and there constant cases where people came to work I'll because even being absent one or two days can put you in hot water at worst, or at the least, really screw over the staff for that shift you have to miss.

This country really needs paid sick leave.

Yeah this was my thinking, although even with paid sick leave there is still the same pressure from bad managers. Although in this case, could have been a customer too.

Norovirus is horrid, both ends.

 

[Realeza]

Will be heading to chipotle for lunch in a bit.

As far as I know chipotle has sick leave and hand washing policies comparable to other fast casual restaurants, no particular reason to be concerned about this unless you ate at that specific location.

Cute how you assume most management gives a f about that.

 

[ShowDog]

Chipotle hasn't been able to raise their prices in years. Thanks norovirus. Has to be the best bang for your $6.70 at this point, assuming you come out of it ok.