Steve Ells Quotes

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Steve Ells

Profession : Businessman

Birth : September 12, 1966

It is impossible to insure that there is a zero percent chance of any kind of foodborne illness anytime anyone eats anywhere.

Steve Ells

I am deeply sorry that people got sick from eating at our restaurants. It's the worst thing that can happen.

Steve Ells

Certainly, in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, I studied art history and had a great time, but I didn't have any sort of career aspirations.

Steve Ells

I was always interested in cooking; it was always a hobby of mine.

Steve Ells

My father is very supportive of anything that his kids want to do.

Steve Ells

I was so terrified that the business would not do well and that there would be no way that I would be in a position to pay my dad back this $80,000. At Stars, as a line cook, I think that I was making $10 or $12 an hour. So $80,000 - to have to pay that back was incomprehensible.

Steve Ells

Being in compliance with industry standards is less than 5 percent of what companies need to do to make food safe. Company after company finds that out after they have events.

Steve Ells

We want to show all of our customers that the industry standards that we had been employing before - which are considered great standards - were not good enough.

Steve Ells

We can assure you today that there is no E. coli in Chipotle. We have thoroughly tested our food, we have thoroughly tested our surfaces, and we are confident that Chipotle is a safe place to eat.

Steve Ells

When I started on the very first day with just one restaurant, we used to pick oregano off the stems and chop them. We still do that.

Steve Ells

We have tacos and burritos and things that sound Mexican. But to me, it's about great-tasting food in an atmosphere sympathetic to the food, prepared freshly and served to the customer in a way that's customizable.

Steve Ells

I use a lot of citrus for seasoning. There's lemon or lime juice in just about everything, and that balances with salt very nicely. Things like toasted cumin seeds for the beans. The use of fresh herbs like oregano and cilantro.

Steve Ells

After operating in three diverse markets, we have determined ShopHouse hasn't demonstrated an attractive unit economic model.

Steve Ells

When our folks focus on exactly what is needed to succeed in the restaurants, they should be able to lead themselves to restaurateur level.

Steve Ells

We have a terrific team, and our managers are terrific managers, but we have made it too complicated for them and too complicated in a way that they just can't do an excellent job in many cases when it comes to the customer experience.

Steve Ells

If food is processed - like canned or frozen - you can reduce the risks of pathogens.

Steve Ells

Our commitment to serving produce from local farms and other sustainable sources is one of the ways we are changing the way people think about and eat fast food.

Steve Ells

I certainly could've made a lot more money buying cheap ingredients, and people might not have been able to tell the difference. That was never a part of the calculus. It was not part of my DNA.

Steve Ells

Despite offering dollar menus and frequent discounts, many of these chains also scored poorly in terms of value.

Steve Ells

The gimmicks that have driven the fast food sector for years - dollar menus, limited time offers, and merchandising partnerships - are not producing results like they used to, as consumers simply want better tasting, nutritious food and a more compelling experience, not gimmicks.

Steve Ells