It's not necessarily a raw numbers issue, although that may still be a contributor. It's a branding issue, and the article does a pretty thorough analysis of th

It's not necessarily a raw numbers issue, although that may still be a contributor. It's a branding issue, and the article does a pretty thorough analysis of the subject. It's all about discretionary, discerning, conscious customers who would think to themselves "Chipotle is fresh, wholesome, and healthy, and they have integrity" or something of the like; now there's fewer people who associate this with Chipotle in particular. Some of the beneficiaries of this development are Panera and Qdoba, who still evoke a similar thought. It may still be the case that Chipotle draws decent crowds, but they are drawing those crowds for different reasons -- promotions, people in a forgiving or adventurous mood, or people who simply don't care about the ethos very much and just want some tasty fast casual food.