How long does it take for a new location to fully ramp up?

Chipotle starts strong, with the first two to three weeks being overwhelmingly busy. It then settles to a natural level. After three to four months, it stabilizes, and after a year, it reaches the comp base. As long as sales projections are realistic, it takes only three to four months to settle in.

Do you think that's just a trend, or is there a bottleneck that limits sales? Is it the customer, or is there something about the actual throughput?

Well, I would say that $8,000 is the average for Chipotle. Urban restaurants that need to focus on throughput do $10,000, $12,000, or $13,000 a day. They also have a lot of catering. Those urban restaurants that focus on throughput handle 50 to 60 guests in 15-minute peaks, whereas the average restaurant might do 20 or 25. The mistake is treating all units the same. If I'm doing 50 guests in 15 minutes, I need to focus on throughput, put my head down, and go. But restaurants doing 22 transactions in 15 minutes are slower and need to be friendly, clean tables, and help the digital team. The bottleneck is treating all units like they're the same, like having two 18-year-olds and two 4-year-olds and treating them the same. The younger ones won't survive.

Is it the way to go? Maybe, I don't know. I guess they don't necessarily think about discounting or promotions that are more price-sensitive, do they?

Brian was a strong advocate for this, and I think Chipotle still maintains that Chipotle is not a discount brand. The average consumer at Chipotle earns $80,000 a year, while the average McDonald's customer earns $60,000 a year. It's a different customer base. When I was at Jack in the Box, we would increase discounts to drive transactions. The Chipotle consumer wants a full portion, really healthful quality food, and the convenience of getting it where and when they want, which is a combination of digital and physical locations.