Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced a new opening date for their Schenectady (Niskayuna) location – Tuesday, December 13 at 11:00am.
You’ll recall that this week’s original planned opening was delayed due to power and gas issues – specifically, they had neither. All’s well now, though, and the burritos will soon be available to all comers.
New piece of information I learned today about this particular Chipotle: the restaurant will occupy two floors, with elevator access to the second level. It’s located in the new Mansion Square Shopping Center, 441 Balltown Road, in Schenectady (across the street from Mohawk Commons). Phone (518) 370-8607, and fax orders accepted at (518) 372-2016.
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Life at Goal 
This picture KILLS me (and I’ve told this to Chipotle myself). But look at it. For a company that prides itself on integrity, a product shot that is so obviously staged, seems totally out of place.
Look at it closely. See the clean line of the tortilla? That’s not a burrito that was assembled and cut. That was a tortilla that was cut with a chefs knife and painstakingly rolled around an assemblage of ingredients that were meticulously prepared. Just take a peek at the 90-degree precision cuts of the red pepper and grilled chicken. Notice the perfect individual grains of rice.
It would not surprise me to learn that the food only goes into the tortilla an inch deep, and the remainder is wrapped around a perfect oval form. Seriously.
I could go on about the sheen on the red onion, and the placement of each visible item, so that they can clearly be identified for what they are. But my head might explode.
Aren’t all food photos used in advertising staged? I mean, no one would buy a McDonald’s hamburger (or a Five Guys one, for that matter) if their ads used pictures of burgers made by actual employees!
I know that’s really not your point. But, there really isn’t any reality involved in getting people to buy stuff.
I knew a guy who spent a full week taking shots of frozen lasagna for some packaging. That’s studio time, lighting people, professional photographer, food stylists, hotels, meals, and other incidentals. It’s crazy.
But that’s not the point.
Chiptotle is supposed to be different. And in fact some of the first ads I saw for the chain were of their burritos fully wrapped in foil. No ridiculously obvious food styling required. And they got to keep their integrity.
A wrapped-up, hidden burrito would not be likely to influence my decision to buy a burrito. I would need to get a sense of what’s in there, even though I know that’s probably not going to look like that when I get it.