Chipotle posts big sales declines in wake of E. coli, norovirus outbreaks

With its E. coli outbreaks declared over by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention on Monday, Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday reported a big hit to fourth-quarter sales — and an even larger one for January.

The Denver Post reports that January sales slid 36 percent versus the same month the year before. That followed a 6.8 percent drop for the fourth quarter, though the fourth-quarter drop was 14.6 percent without new restaurants factored in. The company’s stock price, after losing nearly half its value during the E. coli and norovirus outbreaks at stores around the country, closed at $475.67 on Tuesday.