McDonald's Once Owned 90% of Chipotle - Then Walked Away

In 1993, Steve Ells opened a burrito shop near the University of Denver on an $85,000 loan from his father. He did not plan to build a restaurant chain. He planned to use the money to open a fine-dining restaurant. The burrito shop was just a funding vehicle.

The Part Nobody Expected

Ells needed to sell 107 burritos a day to break even. After one month, he was selling over 1,000. He scrapped the fine-dining plan and expanded Chipotle instead. By 1998, the chain had 16 locations - all in Colorado. That year, McDonald's came calling.

McDonald's Takes 90%

McDonald's made its first-ever investment in a brand it did not itself create, buying an initial stake in Chipotle in 1998. Over the following years the fast-food giant poured in roughly $360 million and used its supply-chain strength to help the chain grow nationwide. By 2001, McDonald's was Chipotle's largest investor. When Chipotle went public in January 2006, McDonald's owned roughly 90 percent of the company.

The Request Ells Refused

McDonald's wanted Chipotle to add drive-through windows and a breakfast menu - the two pillars of the McDonald's model. Founder Steve Ells refused every time. Ells was building something different: a fast-casual chain that used better ingredients and kept the menu small. Drive-throughs and breakfast did not fit that vision. The relationship soured.

The Exit - and What It Cost

In October 2006, McDonald's divested completely, selling its entire Chipotle stake. The corporation turned its $360 million investment into roughly $1.5 billion - a solid return. But Chipotle kept growing. Today the company operates over 4,000 locations in 6 countries and its market cap sits at roughly $38 billion. The 90 percent stake McDonald's sold would be worth around $34 billion today.

Ells became a billionaire in 2025. His original plan - a single fine-dining restaurant funded by burritos - never happened. What replaced it changed fast food instead.