Chipotle is in a bit of a crisis right now. Over the past few months, the fast casual burrito chain has been the subject of a federal investigation connecting it to more than 50 cases of E. coli across the country. In the company's latest attempt to win back public trust, Chipotle announced that it will be closing every one of its nearly 2,000 stores for part of the day on February 8, according to E!.
During the closure, Chipotle will host a nationwide all-staff food safety meeting. Company officials will lead the meeting via s satellite feed, and will thank the chain's employees for their work in responding to the recent food-borne illness issues.
As of December 18, 53 people across nine states had been infected with the particular strain of E. coli that was connected to Chipotle, and 46 of those people reported that they had eaten at the restaurant in the week before their illness started.
The outbreak is widely speculated to be connected to the chain's commitment to fresh and ethically grown food, which comes with increased health risks. For the sake of hungover college students across the country, Chipotle needs to get its health issues under control before one of its competitors snatches its foil-wrapped crown.