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In its first earnings report since former CEO Brian Niccol left Starbucks, Chipotle touted strong sales and a commitment to improving efficiency while maintaining its current strategy.

Chain Comparable sales increased 6% in the third quarterThat growth was driven by transaction growth of about 3%, interim CEO Scott Boatwright said during the earnings call Tuesday. This marks the 17th consecutive quarter in which the chain has demonstrated positive same-store sales growth.

The chain gained momentum during the quarter as the impact of summer seasonality normalized and the chain began operating. Smoked Brisket limited time offer September 10he said. So far, the product is “off to a very strong start, driving increased transactions and spending,” Boatwright said.

Smoked Brisket is one of the chain’s priciest proteins; The price is 30% higher than most other proteins on the menu and 20% higher than steak. But that helped increase tickets and traffic, William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia said in a reporting email to Restaurant Dive.

“Brisket has been so popular in 2021 that Chipotle sold out in November, but management expects this year’s supply to be sufficient through the fourth quarter,” Zackfia said.

Boatwright said the company is also testing Chipotle Honey Chicken, which is chicken flavored with adobo, Mexican spices and a touch of honey. This is one of the chain’s strongest tests to date in both pre-market and market testing in Nashville, Tennessee and Sacramento, California. Honey chicken will be rolled out chain-wide in the near future.

Initiating LTOs is just one strategy that management continues to use following the last leadership transition.

Continuity of leadership, basic strategies

Boatwright, who later became interim CEO Brian Niccol’s departure in Septemberhighlighted the chain’s ongoing priorities: using technology and innovation to drive growth and productivity, maintaining world-class leadership, making the brand more visible and relevant, and expanding reach and convenience by adding restaurants across North America and beyond.

like other chains Starbucks And El Pollo Loco quickly adopted new plans under new leadership to help reverse sales declines. But Chipotle’s business is strong, and the leadership transition came about due to problems at a different company.

At the restaurant level, Boatwright said the company continues to increase the deployment of expediters (staff who help expedite order assembly and payment).

He said restaurants with accelerators eat an average of five incremental entrees in their busiest 15 minutes. This strategy was difficult to implement because this employee is often assigned duties such as meal preparation, which keeps them away from managing this position.

To solve this problem, Chipotle decided to have the incumbent manager fill the expediter position during busy times. That helped the percentage of restaurants with accelerators rise from 50% in the second quarter to more than 60% last quarter, he said.

“It has also helped increase accountability, improve communication with guests and ensure we are delivering each order accurately,” Boatwright said.

The chain is also introducing new equipment and technology, Boatwright said. In an insertion process double sided grill The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, is expected to reach 74 restaurants. Chipotle’s new grill, which it calls a plancha, improves cooking times and consistency and is also being evaluated for new restaurants and renovations of existing restaurants, Boatwright said.

Boatwright said another piece of office equipment that stood out in testing was a produce slicer that helps prepare ingredients like jalapeños and bell peppers, which are among the most time-consuming and repetitive items to process. He said all restaurants should have the new slicer by the end of next summer.

chain in september Pilot implementation of automatic makeline started From Hyphen and Autocado, which cut, pit and scoop avocados. Boatwright said the chain has received feedback from guests and staff on both machines, which will be included in future versions.

“I foresee significant in-house changes in the near future that will increase efficiency and improve the consistency of meals in our restaurants,” Boatwright said.