Chipotle Mexican Grill

ADDENDUM: I have changed our rating for this restaurant to five stars...and here's why: We stopped in on our way through St. Louis on the evening of May 31st. We were weary and hungry, anxious to get back on the road and get home after hours of traveling. Our family's dietary needs always make stopping at a restaurant more of a chore than a treat, with a few exceptions. This was the best of them! As you will read below this addendum, we did not always have a pleasant experience at this restaurant. I feel like the owners took our criticism to heart, though. The change between those experiences and this one was night and day! We ordered our meal online, calling ahead to inform them that our order would need to be handled with Celiac protocols. The staff this time was extremely friendly and accommodating. They were conscientious about our order and ready to help when we called back with additions to our online order. When I walked in to pick up our order, the staff behind the counter had set our order aside and hand-delivered it to me. When I came back in to purchase the chips that the online form hadn't communicated to them, they were initially concerned that they had forgotten something. When I explained to them what happened the young man behind the counter was kind and helpful. In total I spoke to two young men and a young lady...all of whom are credits to their profession and generation. The experience made me feel like they cared about their customers as people. If Chipotle Corp is looking for people to train staff, send them to this store...they have this down! I look forward to visiting this restaurant again! Thank you for a very pleasant experience and the perfect kick-off for the final leg of our journey home. It may have been just another order to you, but for us it was a brilliant moment of upbeat kindness in a weary world! ---------------------------------------- We visited there in the early evening on April 9th. The food was excellent, but the attitude of the girl behind the counter was terrible. Most of my family has Celiac disease and must eat gluten-free. The girl acted like it was a colossal inconvenience. We realize that it is in fact inconvenient for the staff, but as a former restaurant manager I know that the last thing your staff should do is communicate that to the guest. It made my wife and children feel awkward and unwelcome. Yesterday we tried it again out of convenience and a desire to give them a second chance. This time was around 7pm on April 19th. The two young men behind the counter were amiable and accommodating. My family felt very comfortable placing their order and the process was smoothly handled by both of them. What a difference a good attitude makes! In both cases the same manager was present, but he seemed very disconnected from his staff and his customers. I almost felt apologetic for interrupting him from whatever was more important than running the restaurant. I especially felt badly for his staff, whom he treated with detached aggravation. Our second visit would have been remarkably more pleasant if he had just stayed in the back room and trusted one of the other employees with the cash register. Instead he came out too early, growled at his employees, and then waited impatiently for my family to finish their order. We will probably be back at some point. My wife has medical appointments in St Louis periodically and this is across the street from our favorite Trader Joe's. That is unless we decide to eat a little earlier and just stop at the Chipotle near Barnes-Jewish Jewish. It's busier, but MUCH friendlier!