Chipotle plans to
close all its restaurants on Feb. 8 so it can train its employees about food
safety.
They will be
closed until 3 p.m., the company says.
The company is
under criminal investigation for some of the many food-poisoning outbreaks
among its clients.
Most of the
outbreaks have been in restaurants in the Western United States, including E.
coli in California.
There was, however,
a sensational outbreak of novovirus, mainly among university students who ate
at a Chipotle’s restaurant in Boston.
Company spokesman
Chris Arnold told Meatingplace magazine “we are hosting a national team meeting
to thank our employees for their hard work through this difficult time, discuss
some of the food safety changes we are implementing, and answer questions from
employees.”
Steve Ellis, one
of two chief executives for Chipotle, told an meeting of investors recently
that "we face these difficult times now and need to reassure our customers
that this can't happen again, and that we are going to reduce the risk of this
kind of outbreak from occurring again to near zero."
