Chipotle Stores To Open Late After Food Safety Meetings

<p>(AP Photo)</p>
<p>A man walks near a closed Chipotle restaurant on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood of Boston. Chipotle said late Monday that it closed the restaurant after several students at Boston College, including members of the men’s basketball team, reported “gastrointestinal symptoms” after eating at the chain. </p><p class="normal"> </p>
Photo: Chipotle Boston (AP)
A man walks near a closed Chipotle restaurant on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood of Boston. Chipotle said late Monday that it closed the restaurant after several students at Boston College, including members of the men’s basketball team, reported “gastrointestinal symptoms” after eating at the chain.

The company says stores will open at 3 p.m. in their local time zones, instead of the usual 11 a.m. Chipotle expects about 50,000 employees to go to more than 400 locations, such as movie theaters and hotel conference rooms, where remarks by company executives will be shown live.

The meeting comes after Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. saw its sales slammed by food scares, including an E. coli outbreak and norovirus cases. In January, sales plunged 36 percent at stores open at least 13 months.

Now the company is plotting a comeback, with its largest marketing campaign yet to start this week.