Steve Ells didn’t build @chipotle by following the rules of fast food.
He built it by rejecting them.
While most chains centralized production to scale faster and cut costs, Chipotle did the opposite — making guacamole, marinating meat, and prepping ingredients fresh in every single store. It was slower, more expensive, and harder to manage.
But it created a product people could actually taste the difference in.
Now with his new concept, Counter Service (@counterservice.eats ) in New York, Steve is applying that same philosophy to sandwiches — a category that, by his own admission, has been standardized into sameness.
Thousands of sandwich shops, all operating off the same playbook.
Pre-made ingredients. Centralized production. Efficiency over experience.
Steve is trying to break that pattern.
At Counter Service, bread is made daily with just a few ingredients. Vegetables are roasted in-house. Sauces are prepared fresh. The goal is to create a product that stands apart immediately — the same way Chipotle once stood apart from traditional fast food.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
He’s not ignoring efficiency. He’s redesigning it.
By building systems and automation that reduce operational stress, he’s creating a model where higher-quality food and better unit economics can coexist. Smaller kitchens. Streamlined workflows. Less friction for the team.
It’s a different way of thinking about scale.
Instead of sacrificing quality to grow, redesign the system so quality becomes scalable.
That’s the throughline from Chipotle to Counter Service.
Not just better food — a better way to build it.
Hear the full conversation on How I Built This with @guy.raz .
Thank you to the founders of @streakybaydistiller , @matzeroltd , and @cantinarosina for being a part of our show.
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