POLL: Chipotle on the Rebound; Will You Eat at Westford's Location Again?

By CHARLENE ARSENAULT (Patch staff)

WESTFORD, MA - Ask anyone who’s headed to Chipotle these days, and they’ll tell you, “Hey, it’s the safest and cleanest place around to eat now.”

Battling a windstorm of bad press following an E.coli outbreak at several locations nation wide, followed by several instances of norovirus that sickened hundreds who ate at the restaurant, Chipotle Mexican Restaurant is reportedly planning to declare the outbreak over. Fifty-three customers at restaurants in nine states were affected by the E.coli outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is predicted to pronounce the health scare has ended, reports CNN Money. The news sparked an increase Monday morning of 5 percent for Chipotle shares.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the CDC report does not indicate a cause of the outbreak.

The company was forced to close stores across the country in the wake of norovirus and E. coli outbreaks.

A Boston-area Chipotle was shut down in December after roughly 140 people were sickened after eating at the Cleveland Circle location, many of them Boston College students. No specific issues were reported at the Westford location on Littleton Road.

A subpoena demanding a wide range of documents relating to a norovirus outbreak at a Simi Valley, California, store was received in December, the Associated Press reported.

Illnesses linked to Chipotle food have also been reported in the Pacific Northwest and across the Northeast, including in Maryland, New York and New Jersey.

The Chipotle-linked outbreaks led to a 30 percent drop in sales in December, according to the AP. Comps sunk 14.6 percent during the fourth quarter, showing a significant impact on sales, reported Restaurant Business.

All Chipotle restaurants across the country will close for part of the day this month when its employees will attend a national team meeting to discuss food-safety changes.

The meeting, happening on Feb. 8, will not only discuss food-safety changes, but allow employees a chance to ask questions and “thank them for their hard work during this difficult time,” reports the Boston Herald.