Here’s something you don’t see too often. The photo above was taken at Noon today, and it shows a nearly empty parking lot outside a Chipotle restaurant in Woodbridge.
The burrito maker locked its doors for lunchtime on Monday so it could review new food safety policies with staff.
Some of the food Chipotle uses will now be shipped to restaurants form central kitchens, instead of being shipped to, and prepared at individual restaurants.
The company states it’s only going to marinate chicken and steak late at night, and will blanch its produce like jalapenos, limes, onions, and avocados for up to five seconds to remove any germs on the skin of the produce.
The company is also reviewing its paid sick leave plan that allows employees paid time off in the instance they are feeling ill. Those employees will be encouraged to stay home and no come to work.
The training comes after an E-coli outbreak at the restaurant sickened many and spread to Chipotle locations in nine states in the U.S.
A sign on the door at a Chipotle just near Prince William Parkway and Interstate 95 stated the restaurant would reopen at 3 p.m., after the company meeting,
It was a disappointment for hungry Chipotle fans who made special trips to get their burritos.
“It was a good day… I’m off of work today, my team won [the Super Bowl] last night, and I was going to get Chipotle,” said William Boyd, who lives on Route 1 in Woodbridge and made a special trip to the restaurant.
Kyle Hudson stopped here while making the trip home from Washington, D.C. to Dumfries.
“There’s not a Chipotle near where I live, so I wanted to come to this one to grab some lunch.” he said.
All those whom we spoke with said they were happy the fast food chain is doing more to prevent food-related illness. The E-coli scare from late last year didn’t affect their decisions to keep eating Chipotle food.
“I eat here at least once a month,” said Boyd. “If it was really bad, the Food and Drug Administration would’ve shut them down a long time ago.”
