CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, Inc. (CMG-B)

etfwinner (< 20) Submitted: 7/21/2008 7:34:09 PM : Start Price: $69.00 CMG-B Score: -29.89

The current economic climate is forcing a series of changes in the spending habits of today's shoppers (like, duh!).

Casual dining, fast food, and restaurant dining are all going to suffer. People can't afford to put down $10+ per person for food, and even the $5+ for eating at fast-food places is stretching it. Why? because you have to add the cost of gas to that. Plus you have to take into account that while $10 is not that big a deal, normally, if you can buy the same stuff at the grocery and fix the meal yourself for less than $10, you are ahead of the game.

For the next 6 - 12 months, I expect that that kind of reasoning is going to have profound affect on the eating-out habits of Americans. And when you add to the whole mixture the fact that food prices are skyrocketing as a result of several factors, people are busy looking for ways to cut back on what they eat at home, let alone what they're going to pay in order to eat somewhere else.

Starbuck's closing 600 locations is nothing compared to the general cutting that eateries across the board are going to have to do to survive in today's market. CMG-B and anyone else is going to have to bite the bullet for a while.