Chipotle Is Offering Free Burritos After Closing For One Day

As you're probably well aware, every Chipotle nationwide closed earlier today (just until 3 p.m.) to bring back the company from the brink of fast casual obscurity.As Chipotle attempts to dust off the catastrophic effects of multiple food safety scandals, the burrito chain is offering everyone free burritos, no strings attached.

To make up for being closed for four hours on February 8, Chipotle is giving out free burritos to anyone who texts the word "raincheck" to 888-222. Once you do that, you'll get a coupon for a free burrito within the next few days. Chipotle's competitors are taking the opportunity to increase advertising saturation. Moe's Southwest Grill, for instance, ran an ad in USA Today that simply says, "We're open, especially on February 8," a direct reference to Chipotle's decision to close on that day.

But lest we forget, Chipotle's nationwide half-day meeting was about more than just offering customers free food. Chipotle live-tweeted the event, and has rolled out extremely detailed new safety protocols online, which you can see here.