Chipotle expands queso offering to 350 locations

Chipotle will begin offering queso in 350 locations, starting Aug. 1.

The chain announced the expansion Wednesday.

"We'll be rolling out queso to more than 350 restaurants across markets within central and southern California and Colorado, beginning on Aug. 1," Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle's chief marketing officer, said.

Chipotle first introduced queso earlier this month at the Chipotle NEXT Kitchen, a public test kitchen in New York City.

"We've been really pleased with the response to queso in the initial test at our NEXT Kitchen in New York and want to see how it will do in a couple of markets," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Thrillist. "Since beginning the test in New York, we have believed that the queso test was something that we could expand quickly, from an operational perspective, if we opted to do so."

Consumer response in the participating locations will determine whether the chain expands the queso to other locations or makes it a permanent menu item.

According to The Washington Post, Chipotle's NEXT kitchen is also in the process is testing an avocado-citrus salad dressing, a dessert and a frozen margarita.

Chipotle is also considering increasing its prices.

“While we would like to execute the price increase on the next tier of market sometime in the fall, the exact timing will depend on the timing of a possible queso rollout and consumer sentiment and visit habits,” Hurtung said.

About the Author

Brianna Chambers, Cox Media Group National Content Desk