I wonder if that's part of the company's problem, that the E-Coli incident just gave people a reason to rethink their habits? I used to eat a lot at a similar burrito restaurant in Australia, but something happened to make me realize I was paying twice as much for a meal there than I would at Subway, and for all the burrito restaurant's "healthy food" claims I was starting to put on weight, so I stopped eating there.

Why wait in a slow line, pay a premium price, and spend twice as long to chow on a burrito or bowl as it would take you to eat a burger or taco? Sure the food is good, but the hassle is just a bit much. If I wanted to put up with all of that I prefer to just spend a few bucks more and go to a proper restaurant.

I never noticed how good chipotles ingredients were until I started eating bowls instead of burritos. Those massive burritos are a sloppy tube of undifferentiated food matter that totally obscures the quality of the food.

Personally I think they should institute a "small size" burrito, for a lower price. Moe's does this.

I'd like that, but I can see why they don't. I doubt the savings on ingredients would be adequate for them to preserve their margins yet offer a price point that would seem reasonable to the consumer. Very few would be interested if it were only (say) 15 cents cheaper.