The slide continued following a norovirus outbreak at a Chipotle restaurant in Brighton, Mass., that sickened 130 individuals, mostly students attending nearby Boston College.
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U.S. officials have launched a criminal probe into an August 2015 norovirus outbreak at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in California, the company said Wednesday in a securities filing.
Under the subpoena, Chipotle must produce a broad range of documents related to the Chipotle restaurant that experienced the norovirus incident.
The Denver company said sales for the full fourth quarter were down 14.6 percent at established locations, marking the first decline since the company went public in 2006.
In an attempt to build some investor confidence, Chipotle announced another $300 million share repurchase authorization. Two outbreaks involved norovirus, three of them were caused by E. coli and the other was caused by Salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is highly contagious, often spreading when infected restaurant employees and food workers touch raw ingredients before serving.
Overall same-restaurant sales for December were down 30 percent, the company said. A separate outbreak in November sickened five people in Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma, the agency said. Chipotle said it is cooperating with the investigation.
The fast-casual Mexican food chain has been rocked after several foodborne-illness outbreaks were linked to some of its 1,500-plus restaurants across the United States.
Chipotle says sales were down by almost 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, and 30 percent for the month of December, amid food safety concerns.
Chipotle has issued full-page ads apologizing to their customers, but the once thriving company, which served burritos with a side of guilt, is now eating a slice of humble pie.
Chipotle retracted its sales guidance for 2016, saying last month it could no longer reasonably predict sales trends given the food scares.
At least 53 people in nine states have been afflicted by an E. coli outbreak associated with the chain, according to reports.
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“As a matter of policy, we do not discuss details surrounding pending legal actions, but we will cooperate fully with this investigation”, Chipotle’s Director of Communications, Chris Arnold, said.
