June 02--Lines at Chipotle restaurants in Kansas City probably just got a little bit longer.
Chipotle Mexican Grill picked Kansas City for the test market for its new chorizo.
The sausage, made with ground chicken and pork, is now at 33 locations, The Kansas City Star reported.
For now there are no plans to bring chorizo to other markets, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said. So Chicagoans will have to wait.
In the meantime, Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski points out that Chipotle briefly tested chorizo in New York back in 2011.
That earlier test "was discontinued at least in part because of that version of chorizo's greasy look. It appears that a conscious effort to address this issue has been made in this latest chorizo effort by Chipotle," Kalinowski wrote in a research note Tuesday. He has a "buy" rating on Chipotle shares.
And, as Kalinowski notes, Chipotle isn't the only chain trying to woo diners with chorizo. He said he wrote that research note while trying a Scrambled Egg Chorizo breakfast bowl at a McDonald's in Alhambra, Calif.
jwohl@tribpub.com
