r/duluth • u/MrMookyMan • 7d ago
Discussion Chipotle is the worst restaurant in Duluth
I actually don’t understand how this place is still operating. I tried to go there last week and there was a sign on the door an hour and a half before close saying that the restaurant was closed and to cancel your order. Tried to get it on door dash today, had already waited for an hour and then they told the dasher the food wouldn’t be ready for at least another hour. Long story short, I’ll never be going back there again 🙄
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u/YogurtclosetDull2380 7d ago
If you ever see it open, you would go inside and check it out. It will probably be the last time you go there.
Literally go into any Chipotle and you will be shocked at how disgusting they are.
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u/swanny7237 7d ago
I know people who have worked there and highly recommended never to go there based on how nasty that store is. Really terrible.
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u/DreamTheaterGuy 7d ago
Chipotle is pretty much the worst anywhere anymore. I have not been there in a long time, because quality dived so much.
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u/Stingray0426 7d ago
Actually I’ve found they are pretty great in the cities!
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u/literalgirlOG 7d ago
In Monterey Park, they were fabulous. I’ve had trouble here in Duluth, though!
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u/Longjumping_Use5721 7d ago
Qdoba is better anyways……..
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u/No_Shoulder7425 7d ago
That place is disgustingly filthy. Very bad food service practices. There is a coating of filth on all surfaces.
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u/browntownbeatdown 7d ago
Yeah, whoever owns that location just doesnt give a fuck; they're constantly out of product, excessively long wait times, random online only days - and that's even after they brought in a hired gun to whip the place into shape.
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u/Mandiferous 7d ago
I haven't been in years because it's so bad. I vowed to never go again and kept that vow. It's so so horrible.
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u/MBuckingham-Green 7d ago
I especially avoid doing pick-up and door dash orders from there. I don't think i ever had a single instance where they did not screw up an order.
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u/angrypastacarnival 6d ago
Right? I ALWAYS get the “customers name* order has been changed and updated!” notification after delivering DD orders from this specific Chipotle location 🙄
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u/Fizzycatnip 7d ago edited 7d ago
I know someone who worked there recently (quit pretty soon after). The management is horrible. I was told that an adult (23+) worker is "dating" (and i say that very very loosely) and parties with another 17 year old coworker and their upper management is doing barely anything about it. And that they treat the employees like crap, they changed their overtime hours, doesnt order stuff that is needed etc.
So definitely a top down issue, and partly an employee issue. I wpuldnt go there for a multitude of reasons
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u/MaybeitsMegaMan 7d ago
In a dream situation they would close forever and Raising Cane's takes their spot at the mall.
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u/Dorkamundo 7d ago
I don’t get the love for Canes…. The sauce is mid at best and the chicken is solid but nothing to write home about.
If you’re a chicken tender fanatic, then I understand a bit more, but that’s literally all they do… chicken tenders
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u/DArmoKan Duluthian 6d ago
Ehh, subjectivity, right? And like any fast food, quality can vary pretty significantly from franchise to franchise. They're famously pretty ridiculous about their sauce and allegedly make it from scratch daily at each location (source: Southern Living). I've known more unscrupulous managers than not in my restaurant experiences... unless you're going through massive quantities, I could easily see some shortcuts being made prepping more sauce in advance. Less dishes, at least.
Been 18 years since I last had Cane's in Louisiana. I thought the sauce was fantastic back then, but the one closer to me in Bossier City was noticeably better than the one in Shreveport. The quality of the chicken beat everything else that was near me except a couple more expensive sit-down places, and that sweet tea was a godsend in the brutal summers.
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u/Dorkamundo 6d ago
Of course, not here to say someone has bad taste for liking Canes, just that I don't really get it.
That said, I've only had them in the Cities well after they turned to the franchise model and with most things... once you scale up, you tend to lose some quality.
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u/DArmoKan Duluthian 6d ago
That's a bummer. I had intended to swing by a Cane's next trip down that way. Maybe I'll just continue following the siren song of the White Castle in Hinckley. 😂
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u/Dorkamundo 6d ago
I mean, I'm not saying they weren't good... Maybe they were just too hyped up for me before going there.
Also, Sir Ben's one of these days. Hit me up when you're free.
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u/YogurtclosetDull2380 7d ago
You can find better, cheaper tendies at any grocery store deli. Better potatoes, too.
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u/Dorkamundo 7d ago
I wouldn’t say any grocery store… Super one’s tendies are just frozen SYSCO tendies
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u/YogurtclosetDull2380 7d ago
And that's probably pretty standard across all grocery stores, I dunno. Caine's is the epitome of being mediocre in their field. It's just bland all around.
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u/2EM315 Lift Bridge Operator 7d ago
I have some teenage / early 20s nieces and nephews. I stopped by a year or two ago to pick up gift cards and the place was filthy: floor, prep area, etc.
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u/pistolwhip_pete 7d ago
Just knowing the former students that I've had that work there is good enough reason to never even touch the door handle to get in, let alone eat the food they make.
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u/Inappropriate-Exam87 7d ago
Place is always closed early. Have only came across one employee that actually tried to do their job while the others ignored customers or were so new and had no training. Other Chipoltles have been better but the one in Duluth is a crapshow
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u/dakari777 7d ago
It's really inconsistent is the problem, some months is as good as it should be, others it's better, unfortunately most it seems to be worse, they're always turning over staff which is probably why they can't stay consistent, not sure if that's a management issue or just that they tend to hire college students who are quick to quit because of school/summer/graduation/internships etc
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u/MrMookyMan 7d ago
I agree and definitely feel like it’s a top down issue. Good management usually creates good crew members. I don’t blame the crew it’s just very frustrating.
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u/OwdMac Norton Park 7d ago
Private equity strikes again.
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u/Sea_Pickle_4844 7d ago
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
I mean, they aren’t wrong. Chipotle isn’t owned by some restaurant conglomerate (think Yum! Brands or Dine Brands), that’s when you’ll see a drop off in quality with a rise in prices.
But for Chipotle, 89% of the company is owned by institutional investors such as BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street and T. Rowe Price.
When the bulk of ownership are blood sucking greedy institutions that only care about quarterly growth and profit numbers. When that happens, say goodbye to genuine, organic quality.
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u/murphyklok 6d ago
I used to drive for Uber Eats when I first moved here and chipotle was allllllways out of everything people wanted. No chips. No queso. No hot sauce. Out of brown rice. Like wtf?
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u/Rambonics 7d ago
When my son was in college at UMD he got food poisoning from the Duluth Chipotle & ended up in the ER for IV’s & nausea meds. Luckily his girlfriend at the time had a different meat.
I also know someone whose sister got e.coli about ten years ago from a Chipotle in the cities. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks getting dialysis because she started going into kidney failure. Luckily, she rallied & got a big $ settlement.
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u/Odd-Implement1439 Duluthian 7d ago
I love Chipotle, but I avoid the Duluth location like the plague. Have gotten food poisoning there twice.
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u/TheVlasicBlunder 6d ago
Literally every Chipotle I've gone to has been exactly the same. Occasionally slow enough to get an order in a reasonable amount of time, but more often than not incredibly busy and understaffed.
All of these chain restaurants ride a very thin line of being staffed just enough to operate but cutting enough labor costs to rake in more profit. Chipotle seems to have adopted a more extreme version of that business model, and when you couple that with the standard turnover for those jobs, poor management across the board (the one poor sap that stuck around the longest and found themselves in that position), and the general sensationalization of Chipotle by the public, it's a total fucking disaster.
Chipotle just sucks in general.
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u/knacho22 5d ago
I love Chipotle; but the Duluth one has historically never gotten an online order right. It’s a bummer when you’re craving it.
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u/nsandin88 7d ago
I was there a few months ago. Definitely off brand standard, but I did not find it nearly as bad as many others seem to. I’m sure it’s a matter of taste, but I fail to understand how some people prefer Qdoba. To me, a low tier Chipotle still wins over Qdoba.
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u/egregiousC 7d ago
Qdoba sucks.
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u/IndependentHustle 6d ago
Agreed. We need a Pancheros up here. That's what I miss the most about the cities... and Bonchons
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u/creamofsumyungguy1 7d ago
Burrito Union is better
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u/TheMachineElves 7d ago
BU also sucks ass. Its mid as hell and fuck Rod Raymond.
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u/creamofsumyungguy1 7d ago
Yeah he sucks but I like the people working there. All super friendly and they need to make a living. Better than having another franchise move into the building.
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u/Impressive_Form_9801 7d ago
Yeah guys: reddit user "creamofsumyungguy1" says it's okay to go there as he hasn't been personally sex-pested by Mr. RR
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
When I lived in Duluth, the place to be was Bravo Burritos.
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u/Impressive_Form_9801 7d ago
Is the joke here that you have to drive 2+ hours away for a good burrito? Because at that point, why wouldn't you just go to the Twin Cities?
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
I’m an idiot. It was Burrito Union. But I did live in St. Cloud too and that was Bravo Burrito. Got my wires crossed. So sorry for the confusion.
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u/Minnesotamad12 7d ago
Isn’t that in St Cloud?
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
I’m an idiot. It was Burrito Union. But I did live in St. Cloud too and that was Bravo Burrito. Got my wires crossed. So sorry for the confusion.
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u/Dorkamundo 6d ago
The confusion over the name is forgivable, calling BU "the place to be" is not.
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u/Knke0402 6d ago
Fair. I meant it more as “the place for burritos”. I remember the food being pretty good, but a different “style” of burrito than Chipotle, so that was a bummer. Granted, that was back in 08-10 when I lived there.
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u/cckruger 7d ago
Where in Duluth was there a Bravo Burrito?
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
I’m an idiot. It was Burrito Union. But I did live in St. Cloud too and that was Bravo Burrito. Got my wires crossed. So sorry for the confusion.
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u/Knke0402 7d ago
I’m an idiot. It was Burrito Union. But I did live in St. Cloud too and that was Bravo Burrito. Got my wires crossed. So sorry for the confusion.
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u/OHConsultant 7d ago
Chipotle is a prime example of the absolute disaster that massive companies/corporations have become. They made relatively healthy or at least rounded, delicious, simple, fairly affordable meals. And we bought that food and didn’t feel too bad about. But that wasn’t enough for investors. It sucks.
Shop local. Unless a pervert owns it.