Against better judgment, I did something today usually only reserved for moments of suicidal tendencies - I attempted to visit a Chipotle (CMG) restaurant in Los Angeles during the dreaded xmas shopping season.

As if the 20 min looking for a parking spot wasn’t enough, or the 100 yd hike across the parking lot, when I got inside, the line was about 30 people deep - probably 15-20 min wait. I decided to go to another Chipotle, but this one was worse. People were actually lined up out onto the sidewalk! We’re talking about 25-30min wait for fast food tacos that take about 60 seconds to prepare and 5-10 min to eat.

McDonalds, who owns CMG, has a huge hit on their hands (hence the IPO this year) because the food from CMG is oddly addicting. Turns out their “healthy” burrito has more fat in it than a big mac! But you don’t see working class and yuppies alike waiting 25 min on the sidewalk for a big mac. (Except me - After a total of 45 min of insane xmas traffic and 2 Chipotle’s later, I went to the McDonalds drive through next door. The Big Mac didn’t taste as good as a burrito, but hey, feels good to eat healthy. ) Although CMG is not a growth company, I’m going to look at CMG’s price and anticipate better than expected quarterly earnings.

Re: Christmas retail observations?

[quote author=“superbaka”]Against better judgment, I did something today usually only reserved for moments of suicidal tendencies - I attempted to visit a Chipotle (CMG) restaurant in Los Angeles during the dreaded xmas shopping season.

As if the 20 min looking for a parking spot wasn’t enough, or the 100 yd hike across the parking lot, when I got inside, the line was about 30 people deep - probably 15-20 min wait. I decided to go to another Chipotle, but this one was worse. People were actually lined up out onto the sidewalk! We’re talking about 25-30min wait for fast food tacos that take about 60 seconds to prepare and 5-10 min to eat.

McDonalds, who owns CMG, has a huge hit on their hands (hence the IPO this year) because the food from CMG is oddly addicting. Turns out their “healthy” burrito has more fat in it than a big mac! But you don’t see working class and yuppies alike waiting 25 min on the sidewalk for a big mac. (Except me - After a total of 45 min of insane xmas traffic and 2 Chipotle’s later, I went to the McDonalds drive through next door. The Big Mac didn’t taste as good as a burrito, but hey, feels good to eat healthy. ) Although CMG is not a growth company, I’m going to look at CMG’s price and anticipate better than expected quarterly earnings.

Hmm. nobody cared to reply to me. Too bad..CMG is up 130% since my post.

Did anyone else pick up CMG?

AAPL
Dec 12=$86.14
Oct 6=$161.45
Gain=87% gain.
No advantage for me to sell AAPL to buy CMG since gain in CMG is short-term while 87%  gain in AAPL is long term.

Funny…living in Southern California I don’t see any reason to wait in line for a burrito. Too many places in the barrio to get well made Mexican food at a good price without a wait.

CMG’s secret is that they make extremely fatty foods that are addictive, like MCD, but package them in a healthy format. Thats a great scam…there are a few websites devoted to pulling back the curtain on CMG.

I’d be willing to wager that in the barrio, people know they are going to clog their heart, but those in line at CMG think they are getting away for free. I think I’ve heard people in line (also at Subway) say to their friend, “its good to eat healthy” and then ask, “extra cheese..extra sour cream. more. more sour cream. ok and can you put some more cheese on?”

Re: Christmas retail observations?

[quote author=“superbaka”]

Hmm. nobody cared to reply to me. Too bad..CMG is up 130% since my post.

Did anyone else pick up CMG?

Nice

A 130% gain in 10 months ain’t half bad. If I’d been around the board last December I may well have had a look. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll start watching this one….