Chipotle’s $3 ‘Boo-ritos’ Spike Wait-Times by 800%

Musa Sulejmani Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 1, 2017

It’s that time of the year. Every millenials favorite part of Halloween — $3 “Boo-ritos” at Chipotle. Oh yes. Finally, its the time of the year where 80's/90’s pop culture references,the personification of meme culture and the spicy, tangy mixture of beans, rice, and guac wrapped in a tortilla intersect in a celestial event of perfection. What could be spooky about that?

Well for one, 20–30 minute wait-times. According to data from Volume, the typical wait-time for Chipotle during lull hours of the day is 3–4 minutes. However, on the beloved sp00kyween, average wait-times increased by sometimes a factor of 10 and trailed around 30–35 minutes. There’s a scary sight.

Here’s an example I grabbed from my friend’s snap story. This was in Chicago, IL but the story stayed consistent coast to coast. People forked over a half hour of their time to save $5 on a burrito, which honestly, what’s wrong with that? I did.

Typically you’ll see wait-time trail around 3–4 minutes during lull hours of the day. During lunch/dinner hours when Chipotle is busier, they can get up to 10–15 minutes. But on special occasions, these wait-times can get out of whack like the “boo-rito” craze.

Here’s a what a typical Fridays wait-times look like at Chipotle:

Wait-Times at Chipotle on a Typical Friday

Looks like a pretty average distribution for a mexican food restaurant. Peaks at lunch and dinner and lulls during the afternoon. It’s pretty usual that you’ll wait 8–10 min for a burrito on a given Friday.

Here’s where things get … spooky. Check out the distribution of wait-times at Chipotle on Halloween 2017 for the “Boo-Rito” special.

Typical Wait-Times at Chipotle on Halloween

Chipotle’s special goes from 3pm to close at all their stores. So it’s no surprise we saw this huge spike in wait-times at 3pm and it lingered throughout the day. God bless all the souls who stayed in line for 30 minutes in Snapchats Hotdog costume or anything equally as uncomfortable in a hot and humid mexican restaurant for 30 straight minutes. Don’t be too spooked though, wait-times at Chipotle should settle down on November 1st; even if you have to pay full price for boring ol’ “burritos”.

All in all, the brave, resilient millennial souls that desperately waited in chilling late-October temperatures finally received and enjoyed our boo-rito’s in joyous elation — oh how they relished the flavors. Those brave souls may not have received them in a timely manner, but received them nonetheless. Which, really is a metaphor for patience itself (Thanks Chipotle for the lesson in patience). Was the $5 savings worth it to me? You’re damn right, even if I did have to dress up as a hotdog.

Happy Halloween 👻

To learn more about Volume, visit www.volumemobile.com