Chipotle appears to be exploring the idea of a late-night daypart, at least for one night.
For its annual Boorito Halloween event this year, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain said Wednesday that it is extending operating hours on Oct. 31 until midnight in select college towns.
There’s also a discount, as is tradition, but this year marks a shift.
On Halloween night, Chipotle Rewards members can get a $6 digital entree from 3 p.m. to close. (Use the promo code: BOORITO, and guac may still be extra.)
For about 23 years, Chipotle has offered the discount to guests to show up in costume on Halloween—aside from the pandemic era, when the chain took the promotion to Web3, or at least to Roblox, and then TikTok. Last year, however, Boorito returned to restaurants.
Now Chipotle says it is adapting its annual celebration to resonate with Gen Z by offering extended hours and focus on digital orders.
Most restaurants close around 10 p.m., but this year, 53 participating restaurants in college towns will stay open until midnight.
Late night has become the hot daypart. Pizza Hut this week said thousands of its locations have extended hours until midnight or later, in part because third-party delivery has made it viable.
Jack in the Box and Wendy’s have also been pushing to win back late-night strength.
It’s what Gen Z consumers want, Chipotle said. Over the past two years, Chipotle saw a 30% increase in transactions after 8 p.m. on Halloween, and 81% of 18- to 26-year-olds surveyed said they wanted Chipotle to stay open until midnight.
There’s a list of the participating restaurants here. They are among the chain's highest-volume restaurants. And the number 53 also reflects the number of real ingredients on the menu, Chipotle said.
To spice up the promotion, the first 100 digital orders placed between 10 p.m. and midnight local time will receive an exclusive bottle of Tabasco Scorpion Sauce, made with scorpion peppers, which is making a one-night-only debut at Chipotle.
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