Chipotle Mexican Grill billboard

Architecture school benefits from restaurant

(May 24, 2004)--The UTSA School of Architecture, located at the Downtown Campus, will benefit from the opening of a local Mexican restaurant.

Chipotle Mexican Grill celebrates the debut of its third San Antonio location at the Huebner Oaks Shopping Center with a fund-raiser for the architecture school from 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 25. The event is open to the public.

Only cash and checks will be accepted during the fund-raiser.

Customers will order from Chipotle's menu of made-to-order gourmet burritos and tacos and proceeds will benefit the School of Architecture. Huebner Oaks joins two other area Chipotle locations, which opened earlier this year in the Quarry Crossing and Forum shopping centers.

"We are extremely pleased to be the beneficiary of a unique fund-raising concept being offered by a unique restaurant. Having a fund-raiser sponsored as part of the opening process of the newest San Antonio area Chipotle is a very appropriate and generous idea," says Julius Gribou, dean of UTSA's School of Architecture. "Chipotle's use of design as a marketing tool for a restaurant reinforces our belief in the value-added effect of successful design solutions. We are grateful for this contribution from Chipotle, as this will assist us in our efforts to build leading programs in architecture and interior design."

The choice of the UTSA School of Architecture as a beneficiary of the fund-raiser fits well with Chipotle, which takes the architecture of its restaurants seriously, having developed its own "cantina moderne" design style. The restaurants feature stainless steel in the form of galvanized metals and woven wire to achieve a post-industrial look tempered with light woods and outdoor light.

"Chipotle uses commonly available materials in unexpected ways, elevating them to a more sophisticated level," says Chipotle founder Steve Ells. "This reinforces the approach we've taken in creating our recipes. Our ingredients are simple and straightforward. Like an architect constructing a building, it's the particular way we compose our menu items and spice them up that makes us stand apart from the more traditional concepts."

There are nearly 300 Chipotle restaurants nationwide serving the rapidly-growing "fast-casual" restaurant customer. The fund-raiser continues a Chipotle tradition of supporting worthy causes in communities where it does business.

For more information, contact David Whitman, Milam & Co. at 512-293-6916.