<P> Founded by Steve Ells on July 13, 1993 . Chipotle had 16 restaurants (all in Colorado) when McDonald's Corporation became a major investor in 1998 . By the time McDonald's fully divested itself from Chipotle in 2006, the chain had grown to over 500 locations . </P> <P> With more than 2,000 locations, Chipotle had a net income of US $475.6 million and a staff of more than 45,000 employees in 2015 . </P> <P> Founder Steve Ells attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York . Afterward, he became a line cook for Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco . There, Ells observed the popularity of the taquerías and San Francisco burritos in the Mission District . In 1993, Ells took what he learned in San Francisco and opened the first Chipotle Mexican Grill in Denver, Colorado, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream store at 1644 East Evans Avenue, near the University of Denver campus, using an $85,000 loan from his father . Ells and his father calculated that the store would need to sell 107 burritos per day to be profitable . After one month, the original restaurant was selling over 1,000 burritos a day . The second store opened in 1995 using Chipotle's cash flow, and the third was opened using an SBA loan . To fund more growth, Ells' father invested $1.5 million . Afterwards, Ells created a board of directors and business plan, raising an additional $1.8 million for the company . Ells had originally planned to use funds from the first Chipotle to open a fine - dining restaurant, but instead focused on Chipotle Mexican Grill when the restaurants saw success . </P> <P> In 1998, the first restaurant outside of Colorado opened in Kansas City, Missouri . The company opened its first location in Minnesota by opening near the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in March 1999 . </P>

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