Chipotle Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Hamilton Township

I am what you might describe as a Chipotle-a-holic. You might as well give me the $240 catering reward from Chiptopia now, cuz I basically eat there 5 days a week. As a veteran, I have eaten at a lot of Chipotles from Ohio to California, and 15 different places in Denver, including the very first Chipotle there ever was. When I moved to south New Jersey recently, I was surprised to see only one Chipotle open near me. Well, after eating at the Mays Landing Chipotle for a month, I can see why this trend has not caught on here yet.

This restaurant is THE worst managed Chipotle I have ever eaten at. My first impression was when I heard a male manager tell the Line, from the back of the prep area, to "limit their portions" because they were "running out of food." How do you run out of food, and is it company policy to skimp the customers portions when it happens? I had to ask twice for "extra" rice in order to get a normal portion that I would receive anywhere in Denver. The young woman, who was doling out rice, was whispering expletives under her breath at the constant nagging from the manager, which is unfortunate because she is the one dealing with upset customers not getting proper portions, not him. She was obviously not happy with his management style. Recently, they ran out of rice again, and they had not even started a new batch yet. Pathetic.

Each time I visit, the Pinto beans are dry and look like mashed potatoes. They are so dry they barely come off the ladle. They have to slam the ladle like slop in prison for it to come off. Also, the dining area is always filthy. I, personally, don't understand how people are raised to leave such a mess in a self serve dining area, but that's our country this day and age and responsibility falls to the restaurants to maintain a clean dining area. Unfortunately, the management hasn't received that memo because it's normal to see at least 7 of the 9 tabletops covered in a previous customer's mess. Also, they frequently run out of the Smoked Chipotle Tabasco sauce, which is by far the most popular sauce.

One day after paying for a soda and Burrito, I get to the fountain machine to find an employee pressing switches with no soda coming out. I stood around hoping someone knew anything about the operation of a simple fountain machine, but not even the manager understood how it worked. I ask her if the machine was switched on, so she goes in the back and brings out a handful of keys and starts trying each one of them to turn the machine on. I asked if she was the manager, which she confirmed, yet she had no clue which key turned on the fountain machine! As I am still standing and waiting, I can tell she is annoyed by my hovering and so she says "do you want a bottled water instead?" I said "No, I paid for a soda." She said well the machine is not working and it will be a while before it is fixed. So I go sit down, and patiently wait as person after person comes out and pushes on the soda switches to see if any soda comes out, as if it magically fixed itself. Finally, an employee asks if I would like a refund on my soda, and I said yes. She is the one, NOT the manager, that realized I didn't want water nor a sugary bottled drink and maybe it was best I just got my money back. Pretty sad the manager doesn't have the awareness to solve that problem herself. So, now I am that jerk customer who obsessed over getting his soda, and since I go in just about every day I now deal with looks from the back of the prep area from the female manager and employees who like to speak Spanish about me as if I don't understand what they are saying.

As this is the only Chipotle within a 50 minute drive of where I live, I have no choice but to eat here if I want to get my fix, but I can honestly say the District manager needs to take a hard look at the performance of this store, since it is basically the only ambassador the chain has in the greater Atlantic City area. Maybe start by training them that the dining area doesn't have koodies, and it is OK to step foot in there every...

It just goes to show what the right people and the right leadership can do for a business. I moved to Jersey a few years ago from Denver where there was a chipotle on every corner it seemed. It is the birthplace of Chipotle after all. So it follows that Denver does Chipotle better than anywhere else and I ate their often. When I came to Jersey the closest Chipotle was at Wrangleboro Rd. The manager then was a lady who had a terrible attitude and this attitude was reflected in the atmosphere of the store. The employees had too much free reign and it felt very unprofessional. It was dirty, the food was mediocre compared to Denver and I felt compelled to ask the regional manager what was going on there. This place was a Terrible ambassador for the Chipotle I loved. Fast forward two years, I took a job which brought me close to this restaurant everyday and began eating there a couple times a week. The food was night and day better compared to two years earlier. The restaurant was clean and the employees a breath of fresh air. I remember sitting facing the counter watching the employees laugh and genuinely enjoy serving people and I noticed Alejandro behind the counter managing these people and how they responded to him. The guy is a great manager and I felt compelled to tell him what a great job he is doing compared to the manager I remembered before. It’s really about the people you surround yourself with, and Alejandro has built a great team. One thing I know, attitude is a reflection of leadership and Alejandro’s leadership seems to be a big part of the change this particular Chipotle has experienced....

Mobile order was supposed to be done at 8:50 pm but got it at 9:25 pm. It was busy and they had two people preparing one bowl at a time for some reason I doubt it takes two people to make one item. Took awhile for one of the employees to come and ask me and three other people what we needed and when I asked for mine she said they had it done already but didn’t put it out on the pick up shelf. Looked like they had my order there for while behind the counter.

A month later and yet another bad experience, this time the food was there but I was missing the drinks in the order so that got half the order right. Feel like every time I go there’s always something wrong.

January 24, 2022. Went there again they forgot to add the fajita vegetables to both the bowls I ordered and the sour scream. The taste of the guacamole was off too, at this point idk if they’re doing a bad service on purpose.

July 3, 2022. Once again they forget an item that was apart of my order. It’s always the chips or the drink. Like it’s not hard to add it. Wasn’t busy in there either. There should...