Chipotle Mexican Grill to Feature Author Essays on Cups and Bags

Posted on May 15, 2014

Chipotle Mexican Grill wants to give customers something interesting to read while they're inhaling their burritos. The company has launched a new initiative called the "Cultivating Thought" author series. The company has solicited original short essays from authors, comedians and thought leaders which will appear on its restaurant packaging.

It teamed up with New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Eating Animals, Everything is Illuminated), who curated the series. Chipotle says the goal of the project is to entertain customers - "while exposing them to some of the most creative and influential people of our time." Chipotle has also hired artists to illustrate the essays.

According to Vanity Fair, the whole thing came about when Safran Foer emailed the CEO of Chipotle and told him how bored he was while eating his burrito because he didn't have a smartphone and forgot to bring a book with him. He suggested that the company give customers some reading material on their bags and cups. So they did.

So whose thoughts will you be reading off your Chipotle bag? It's a pretty interesting list: Judd Apatow, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Hader, Toni Morrison, Michael Lewis, Steve Pinker, Sheri Fink, George Saunders and Sarah Silverman. We assume they asked Apatow and Silverman to keep it G-rated, but we suppose we'll find out soon enough.