I don’t think it’s crazy to say Chipotle without Brian Niccol feels like The Office without Michael Scott. Sure, the show technically kept going, but everyone knew Andy Bernard wasn’t him. Same deal here: the burritos are still rolling out, but the magic? It upped and left in the middle of the night and never came back.

When Niccol peaced out last August for his king’s ransom at Starbucks, my wife turned to me and said, “So Chipotle’s about to suck now, huh?” And honestly? She wasn’t wrong. The company hasn’t been a total dumpster fire, but the stock is down 10% since he left. For starters, Chipotle’s been forced to hike wages (shoutout to California’s $20 fast-food minimum) which, of course, meant higher burrito prices. Pair that with fewer people showing up for their carnitas bowls and suddenly burrito inflation is starting to feel less like “fast casual chic” and more like “I should’ve just gone to Taco Bell for half the price and twice the regret.”

So what’s the grand plan to win consumers and shareholders back? New menu item? Lower prices? A permanent “guac is free” clause in the Constitution (if you buy two or more burrito bowls, because margins)? Nope. Chipotle’s next big lever is… drone delivery, baby.

Starting this week in Dallas, they’ve teamed up with Zipline (the drone company that literally drops medical supplies in Africa and blood bags in Utah) to launch what they’re calling “Zipotle.” For $2.99 plus a 15% service fee (capped at $6), you can now have a burrito air-dropped onto your front lawn like you just called in a Call of Duty care package.

And while it’s not quite as futuristic as Amazon’s humanoid bots cruising around San Francisco delivering packages door to door (coming soon to a city near you), here’s how Chipotle’s version works. Employees at a Chipotle in Rowlett, Texas load your burrito into a “Zipping Point” (basically a robot-friendly burrito bird feeder). Then the drone flies out, hovers 300 feet above your house, and lowers a little droid with your order. The payload at launch is 5.5 pounds and will eventually be 8 pounds… so that shouldn’t be a problem for most orders.

(Source: CBS News)

And like every company that rolls out a new “innovation,” Chipotle’s trying to squeeze every drop of PR juice from this drone play. Curt Garner, the company’s resident tech chief, went on the record and said this is really about efficiency… “one store can service a whole zip code with drones.” On TV, that sounds slick. One hub could theoretically replace a fleet of delivery drivers, cut costs over time, and even improve delivery margins, which have been killed by third-party apps. And yes, it’ll no doubt spark a wave of Gen Z TikToks with captions like “POV: your burrito parachuting into your yard.” but here’s the actual problem: drones don’t fix what’s broken.

Sorry to be Johnny Raincloud, but same-store sales were down 4% last quarter. Traffic dropped nearly 5%. And to make matters worse, operating margin shrank to 18.2% from 19.7% a year ago. Still elite compared to most of fast casual, but not “priced for perfection” anymore. Investors used to treat Chipotle like it was a cheat code… raise prices, open more stores, boom. But now customers are starting to look at a $13 burrito and think, “I guess Taco Bell will do just fine.”

Chipotle knows this, which is why they’re doubling down on Gen Z with their new “Chipotle U Rewards.” Students get bonus points, surprise drops during finals, and Urban Outfitters collabs. (Yes, there’s a $99 burrito throw blanket. Yes, someone’s parents are paying for it.) But loyalty programs don’t mean much if the brand doesn’t feel like a good deal in the first place.

The real issue comes down to fundamentals: customers don’t feel like they’re getting value anymore. Portion sizes have turned into a meme… nobody wants to drop $13 on a burrito bowl where the employee carefully shakes the scoop to make sure you only get five sad pieces of chicken instead of the full eight. And without new menu items that actually create buzz, like Pollo Asado or the early lifestyle bowls, the brand just feels flat. Drone drops might make for entertaining TikToks, but unless someone can prove otherwise… they don’t make people crave Chipotle.

Four or five years ago, Chipotle was a f**king machine. Digital orders were exploding, Chipotlanes were flying cars through faster than Chick-Fil-A (ok not that fast, but you get the point) and Wall Street was convinced this was the next great American restaurant stock. But until Scott Boatwright can recreate that kind of traffic growth, Chipotle looks shakier by the day.

So essentially, the company is at a crossroads. Either Boatwright finds a way to make $13 burritos feel like a good deal again, restores portion trust, and gives people a reason to show up like it’s 2019… or the only thing taking off here will be the drones, not the stock.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Starbucks as mentioned in the article.