How Chipotle Founder Steve Ells Got The Idea To Sell Burritos

Chipotle founder Steve Ells built an empire that changed the fast food industry forever.

Ells' idea for a simple burrito chain came from a humble source, writes Denise Lee Yohn, a brand expert and author of What Great Brands Do.

When Ells was working as a line cook making $12 an hour at a high-end restaurant, he couldn't afford to eat there.

Instead, he would fill up on cheap burritos from a San Francisco taqueria called Zona Rosa, Yohn writes in an excerpt of her book republished on Fast Company.

"I remember jotting down on a napkin at that moment how many people were going through the line, how quickly," Ells told the Rocky Mountain News in 2006, "And I thought, they probably have this much in sales, the food costs might be X-a good little business."

Ells was also inspired by how the taqueria was able to make inexpensive food with fresh ingredients.

He returned to his hometown of Boulder, Colorado, and opened the first Chipotle restaurant with a family loan.

Today, there are more than 1,400 Chipotle restaurants, with aggressive plans for growth.