Some social media influencers are taking aim at the fast-casual chain Chipotle — and this time, it’s not just because the guac costs extra.
Jeanine Amapola, a content creator on TikTok, is going viral for claiming the food quality at the chain has gone downhill, but the prices have gone up. The clip has been viewed over 1 million times.
@jeanineamapola The downfall of chipotle ?What do y’all think? ##chipotle ♬ original sound – JeanineAmapola
“The stores, I find they are very dirty and they’re very chaotic. When I was in there, they were dropping things. they were rushing,” she claims. “There were children screaming and running around … I just wanted to be out of there literally as fast as possible.”
Chipotle was under fire from 2015 through 2018 when mass Norovirus outbreaks happened due to food contamination at several of the chain’s locations that affected roughly 1,100 customers.
In 2020, Chipotle agreed to pay a $25 million penalty in what was called the “largest fine ever imposed in a food-safety case.”
“Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said at the time.
Related: Chipotle to Pay $20 Million to Workers in Largest of its Kind Settlement
Amapola said that the food was “decent” but definitely “doesn’t hit the way it used to” after claiming that her bowl which once cost $9 was now $14.
The chain raised prices by roughly 4% in August 2022 for customers as a way to offset the costs of raising workers’ wages in 2022. Bloomberg also reported that at the same time, supply chain costs for oil and beef were skyrocketing, causing the chain to need to up prices.
Viewers were largely in agreement with Amapola’s sentiments.
“I would give ANYTHING for a single bite of my 2011 Chipotle order,” one person wrote.
“I definitely agree with you! Which is why I no longer go there. Just not the way they used to be,” another said.
Chipotle is coming off a rough Q2 2023 where sales did not hit expectations, noting that another round of price hikes could be coming to customers soon.
Related: Chipotle’s Robots Can Make Almost 200 Burrito Bowls an Hour
“As we get closer to that fourth quarter, we’ll make a decision exactly on what we want to do on the pricing front,” Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said in an earnings call at the time.
Chipotle was up over 23% year-over-year as of Monday morning.
Chipotle did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.
