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The door-to-door burrito is here.
Chipotle, the Mexican chain that Millennials can't seem to get enough of, has begun offering delivery for online and mobile orders in 67 cities.
The move, revealed to analysts at the company's first-quarter earnings call, puts Chipotle right in the delivery driver's seat along with Starbucks, which also plans to test delivery service with the very same third-party operator in the Seattle area later this year. Both chains are linking-up with Postmates, an app-based delivery service that works with private contractors, in a sort of Uber-like business model.
"This is about the changing dynamics of retail," says Christopher Muller, professor of hospitality at Boston University. "It's the fallout of the Internet shopping world."
It's also about Millennials demanding to get what they want, when they want it. That's why Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol earlier this month also said that, he, too, wants to test some sort of Taco Bell delivery before the end of this year. Soon, the pizza-world's lock on quick and nimble delivery service will be a thing of the past..
The Chipotle delivery service is only available in markets where Postmates operates, said Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer, on the earnings calls.
In a recent interview with USA TODAY, Bastian Lehmann, co-founder of San Francisco-based Postmates, said the delivery service works with about 10,000 private contractors. He said about 75% of the orders are delivered by car and the other 25% are delivered via scooter or bicycle.
Deliveries from Postmates begin at $5 if they're without about a 1-mile radius of the store — and go up for there, he said..
Soon, you'll be able to get your Starbucks latte and Chipotle burrito delivered by the same service.
The world is still waiting for Baskin-Robbins to do the same.