Chipotle to reopen restaurants shuttered in E. coli outbreak in northwest

Chipotle Mexican Grill announced on Tuesday that it will reopen 43 restaurants in the Pacific Northwest that have been shuttered for nearly two weeks after an E. coli outbreak sickened more than three dozen customers.

The restaurants, which are located in Oregon and Washington, have all had deep cleanings and will reopen with fresh ingredients. Customers that were stricken with E. col only ate at 11 of the Pacific Northwest locations, but the company voluntarily shuttered all of its restaurants in the region.

The restaurants will begin reopening on Wednesday, according to Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold.

“The safety of our customers and integrity of our food supply has always been our highest priority,” Steve Ells, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle, said in a statement. “If there are any opportunities for us to do better in any facet of our sourcing or food handling – from the farms to our restaurants – we will find them."

The Pacific Northwest E. coli episode marked the third major food-borne illness outbreak for the company in three months. In August, the company dealt with a salmonella case in Minnesota and a norovirus outbreak in California that sickened dozens.

Chipotle and state health officials have been conducting food and environmental testing at Chipotle restaurants and distribution centers, but have not been able to hone in on what food product might have spread the E. coli. Oregon Health Authority officials said last week that Chipotle customers were most likely sickened by contaminated produce.

At least a dozen of those sickened in the outbreak had to be hospitalized. Most complained of suffering bloody diarrhea and vomiting.