Just around the corner of Aurora Rd is one of the most popular restaurants in Solon. Everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant: Chipotle. It’s one of the most go-to places to grab a quick bite, but there is a set back. Not every Chipotle establishment has the same quality of service from each other.

Sept. 11, I made the decision to give Solon’s Chipotle a try and then placed an online order. The order was a steak bowl and a chicken burrito, which was supposed to be ready to be picked up at 6:30 p.m. The moment I walked in, there was a long line of hungry people waiting to place an order.

I walked over to the shelves that had the sign “online pickup” on it. However, I didn’t see any bags with my name on it. After waiting 10 minutes, one of the staff came up to me and said that I would have to wait a bit longer. While waiting for my order, I stood there watching workers work on people’s orders (who did not pre-order) get their orders instead of working on my order. Waiting another 15 minutes, I watched one of the workers begin to make my order. Once the worker finished, they handed me the bag, and I headed over to the condiment stand to grab forks and napkins. While at the condiment stand, I noticed there were no forks and the napkins were everywhere on the ground as well as on the counters.

Overall, the wait time was too long and the establishment was understaffed. However, the food quality and taste fulfilled my expectations. After this experience, I wondered which Chipotle in my area was a better option to go next time. I was also curious if anyone had also faced a similar interaction at this Chipotle.

I asked students from Solon High School to give me their opinions on Solon’s Chipotle and which Chipotles in our area were the best.

Cleanliness

Solon
The rest of the interviewees replied that the countertops were dirty, and the establishment was not clean.

“The countertops were always dirty. The pay area would always have food everywhere” said Chase McGhee.

Asiya Zadi also shared her thoughts on Solon’s Chipotle.

“I did not have a completely bad experience, but I do see some areas of improvement,”  Zadi said. “The seating area was not the cleanest and they could really work on being efficient on customer’s orders.”

Hudson
The majority of students said that Hudson was the best due to staff being efficient and the establishment being clean.

Reina White described her experience by saying that “they were clean, and the countertops did not have any food everywhere.”

Twinsburg
Only one student had a comment on the cleanliness at Twinsburg.

“Twinsburg was surprisingly clean, and it looked like the average Chipotle,” Zaidi said.

Bainbridge
No interviewee had any bad comments on Bainbridge’s cleanliness.

McGhee said that Bainbridge was good due to “the establishment being clean as well as the workers being friendly.”

Efficiency, Wait time and Service

Solon
I later asked if the establishment was efficient and if the wait time was fast.

“They were not that efficient, and I had to wait a while for my food,” McGhee said.

White, agreed with McGhee.

“They were not efficient, and I made a pre-order (online order), but when I walked in, the staff made my order,” White said. “The order should have been ready by the time I got there.”

Hudson
Hudson’s Chipotle seemed to be the most popular and favored by the majority of the students.

Reina white explained her experience at Hudson.

“The staff placed utensils and napkins in my bag without needing to get them myself,” she said. “Service was good because the staff also attended to my needs quickly.”

Twinsburg
Zaidi had a bad experience there.

“I did have to wait a bit for my online order because the place was busy, she said. “However, I have not been there often but the time I went there- they were efficient.”

Bainbridge
Bainbridge’s Chipotle is one of the newest built Chipotles.

“I have only been to Bainbridge once, but the first time I went there, the service was normal and not bad,” Mian Afnan said.

Food Quality and Taste

Solon
The students were asked if they thought the food quality and taste was good.

Every single one of them replied that the food taste was excellent.

A student gave us their opinion on the food taste.

“The customer service was great– they greeted me while I walked in, as well as being nice while taking orders and the food tasted pretty good,” Lockett said.

However, a student had a comment on the quality of the food.

“The taste is good but there are times that the rice is not cooked well,”Afnan said.

Twinsburg
Twinsburg was also the only Chipotle that did not receive any negative feedback. However, they were not in the first or last choice of best Chipotles. All of the students had positive feedback, and agreed that the food tasted good there.

Bainbridge
The establishment was ranked in the middle between all students interviewed. The establishment received no negative comments.

“Bainbridge met my expectations, and the food tasted good,” McGhee said.

Hudson
Every student interviewed agreed that Hudson’s food tasted good, and the quality was not bad.

“The food at Hudson was tasty and met my expectations for taste,” Afnan said.

Overview

Most students agreed that Solon was the lowest out of the four Chipotles. However, one of the students thought Solon’s establishment was excellent.

After hearing everyone’s responses, I asked the students which Chipotle (Solon, Twinsburg, Bainbridge and Hudson) was the best. The scores were rated on a scale from one to four, one being the best and four being the worst.

The overall opinion from students is that Hudson and Twinsburg were the highest ranked Chipotles in our area.

Hudson had the best efficiency, wait time and service was good.

Solon was the worst for cleanliness. Twinsburg, Bainbridge and Solon all had the best taste.

Twinsburg and Bainbridge were both mediocre for cleanliness, efficiency, wait time and service.

If I ever feel hungry and want to grab a bite of Chipotle, I will head to Twinsburg or Hudson.