I've always enjoyed a good Burrito from Chipotle Mexican Grill. All their ingredients and products are so fresh, made and cooked daily. Their employees are well trained in food handling and in the times they need to wash their hands and change their gloves. As a matter of fact I like them so much that I own Chipotle Stock in my Investment Portfolio.
After being awarded the Triad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another
have not reached the public in its totality. And the Chipotle Mexican Grill at Towers Shopping Center, located in Southwest Roanoke, Virginia, is the perfect example.
I currently have 12,838 Reward Points from Chipotle reflected in my Chipotle app. Most of the time I order delivery from this store location. But today I happened to be in the area and decided to go eat there in person. Their restaurant is located on the right of T-Mobile at Towers Shopping Center. This place has been totally renovated since the time it was built and all the stores there are very clean and presentable. They are in the right corner of the strip mall in a modern building painted yellow and white, with bright red window frames color.
The interior design of the restaurant has nice contemporary furniture and lighting. As one enters through the main door on the left side, one walks all the way back until one reaches the counter and tell the employee there the entrée they want, the protein, the ingredients included, and the extra ingredients that are Guacamole and Queso Blanco. There was one customer in front of me and I took a look of the menus high above and some enlarged photos advertisements of some of the items. When the server came back and asked me what I wanted. I told him a Braised Beef Barbacoa Burrito. He heated the large tortilla to make the burrito and started asking me what I wanted on it. Starting from the white rice and black beans, then the protein that I ordered was the Beef Barbacoa, the mild sauce and the one with corn, graded cheese, and sour cream. He was wearing gloves as he handled the Burrito and was very generous with the portions. When he started folding the Burrito, it was so loaded that it cracked, so he asked me if it was alright if he put another tortilla over the first one. I agreed and he did a great job folding the Burrito. Then he wrapped it in an aluminum wrap and put it inside an orange plastic baske. By this time we had reached the cashier who asked me what I has so she could price the order, I included a fountain soft drink. I had her scan my app so I would get my Rewards points for this meal and paid with my credit card. The cashier lady employee was very friendly and nice, even though she was wearing a mask.
I found this a little strange because Chipotle Corporate now has paid sick leave to encourage employees to stay home when I'll. It also has come up with their Food Safety 7, a system of seven key protocols for preventing foodborne illness, encompassing Work Healthy, Work Clean, Keep Produce Safe, Cook it, Keep it Hot/Keep it Cold, Maintain Sanitary Conditions, and Call for Help. These guidelines are a core part of the company's overall enhanced food safety program, which also include rigorous supplier standards, and enhanced internal training.
I took my Burrito and paper cup and sat down at a table in front of the softdrink machine after getting some ice and Root Beer. The Burrito was real Fat, sort of contradicting those customers that are saying that they are making them smaller. And it contained lots of protein and other ingredients. It was truly amazingly delicious.
The only thing that prevented me from having an excellent dining experience was that I noticed that the Organic Lemonade and Agua Fresca dispensers were dirty, empty, and not cleaned nor replenished. Also that the floor of the seating area next to me was dirty, and they didn't have anyone cleaning the restaurant after the customer. The dirty floor detracted from the beautiful contemporary decor of the place and ruined the perfect dining experience. I hope Corporate and management reads my review and immediately corrects this, for it is one of the only reason I didn't give it a 5 Stars review. read more