[jandrese]

As opposed to their current business plan of making a burrito that is half the size and twice the price?

A decade ago going to Chipotle was a treat. You'd get a fresh and honestly gigantic burrito for a pretty reasonable price. Sometimes I would stop after work and pick up burritos/bowls for the entire family.

I went a couple of years ago and it was just sad. They didn't shrink the tortilla so I ended up with a burrito that was practically double wrapped after they skimped on all of the fillings and it cost something in the double digits. I have not been back. The only good thing was in the old days the line would be pretty long and it would be a wait, but last time I went I was able to walk right up and order.

It's not like Chipotle doesn't have plenty of competition. There's a Qdoba right down the streets from mine and a Califorina Tortilla in the other. Across town there is a Cafe Rio. It feels like some middle management dweeb thought we wouldn't notice when they tried to maximize profits.

[darth_avocado]

The funny thing about Chipotle is that in Denver, you have Illegal Pete’s which is kind of like Chipotle if they never went national. Somehow, with the economies of scale, Chipotle is still more expensive, has smaller portions, fewer toppings and menu options and overall an objective worse experience when it comes to food and the dining experience. I am always amazed and confused how that’s possible at all.

[mrguyorama]

>Somehow, with the economies of scale,

"Big business is better for consumers because economy of scale" has just always been a lie.

No business will pass on a cost decrease if it doesn't have to. A big business will always have more pricing power than a small business. A big business will therefore pass on fewer cost savings to consumers.

Also, making food the way Chipotle does just does not have any economy of scale. The workers making burritos don't get cheaper if you hire 100k of them.

"Economy of scale" is not some magic spell that you get when you pass 10k employees. Economy of scale is a lie that covers up that if you make huge investments, you can do enough engineering and machine work to replace humans in some parts of some processes. It is not intrinsic.

It is the norm that a business will spend a lot of money on cost reduction or process improvement and then just.... happily absorb that improved profit margin.

Why wouldn't they?