Chipotle offers chips and guacamole bribes at old Home location

Chipotle offers chips and guacamole bribes at old Home locationChipotle-Logo
Roy
Published on May 05, 2013
Free Chips and Guac from Chipotle for your soul.Yesterday, while I was walking past the old Home location at Market and Church (2100 Market Street), a guy named Joe asked me if I wanted some free chips and guacamole in exchange for my signature on a petition to bring Chipotle to the Castro. I declined. I was kind of disgusted at the desperation, but thought it would make an interesting story for the Biscuit, so I came back and chatted with Joe a little bit more. Turns out that Joe works for Berg Davis Public Affairs. The company was tapped by Chipotle to try and muster up some good will by offering food to Castro residents in exchange for their signature on a petition to bring the restaurant to the Castro. Joe was armed with a friendly smile, a clipboard, and a two-sided leaflet describing how the future Chipotle was going to "give back" to the community. Chipotle Rendering 3On the leaflet one of the "benefits" of bringing the chain to the Castro was their proposed installation of a public mural on the Market Street side of the building near the parking lot. Will this public mural be a true public mural that local artists can paint on at will with images that defy corporate bullshit? Or is it the brain-child of corporate ass-hats who'd love nothing more than to meld business with culture? That is up for debate. When I mentioned the contention that has been expressed on our blog in the comments section about bringing this "formula retail" establishment to the Castro, Joe said that it was "very interesting" and deflected by bringing up the proposed 4th Starbucks location (haters that think that there is only one Starbucks in the Castro can go read another blog). On behalf of the company, Joe said that his firm had been working with local neighborhood associations to get approval for the Chipotle and while the firm understands how contentious the issue is, they thought it was silly for Starbucks to want another location in the Castro. Mind you, I did not mention anything about Starbucks. Joe offered this opinion of his own volition. No doubt it's a talking point that allows Chipotle to align itself with other folks who are concerned with bringing retail establishments into the Castro that have no ownership ties with our community. All I know is that I would love to see the restaurant space filled by a business, but not via a bribe of chips and guacamole (a guilty pleasure of mine for sure).