Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) will open its first restaurant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia later this month, the company announced on August 13, marking its entry into the Gulf’s largest consumer market. The restaurant opens at Sidra, a premier dining destination next to Granada Mall in Riyadh, in partnership with Alshaya Group, the Kuwait-headquartered operator behind more than 50 international brands across the region.
The Riyadh site will serve Chipotle’s full menu of burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas and salads, prepared in the brand’s signature open kitchen with responsibly sourced ingredients. Riyadh’s position as one of the region’s leading shopping and leisure destinations made it the natural launch city for a brand that has been building Gulf awareness since 2024.
“We’re pleased to introduce Chipotle to guests in Saudi Arabia.”
Nate Lawton, Chipotle’s Chief Business Development Officer, framed the opening as a milestone in the company’s international growth strategy and a long-term commitment to the Kingdom.
Since launching with Alshaya Group in 2024, Chipotle has opened 16 restaurants across the Middle East — seven in the United Arab Emirates, seven in Kuwait and two in Qatar. Jeff Kellen, President of Alshaya’s Hospitality division, said Chipotle has “surpassed all expectations” regionally and that Saudi consumers have been eagerly awaiting the brand’s arrival. The playbook mirrors the way other Western F&B concepts have scaled the Gulf through experienced local partners, from boutique coffee concepts in Dubai to specialty cafe brands entering the GCC.
Chipotle operates more than 4,200 restaurants worldwide, with over 80 company-owned locations in Canada, 21 in the UK, six in France and two in Germany, plus a recent entry into Mexico with Latin American operator Alsea. The Middle East remains its only fully franchised territory — a deliberate structure for markets where local capability matters most, and a route American brands increasingly use across Asia Pacific as well.
The company expects to open 350 to 370 new restaurants in 2026 and is targeting 7,000 locations in the US and Canada long term, while its business development group evaluates further partnerships, joint ventures and development agreements internationally.
Saudi Arabia is the prize market of Gulf F&B, and Chipotle’s entry — via Alshaya Group rather than company ownership — reinforces the case that even the most operations-obsessed US brands will franchise the region when the partner is strong enough. For family offices and multi-unit operators across MENA, the message is that category-defining fast-casual brands are still allocating Gulf rights to proven platforms with real estate access and hospitality depth. Expect the Kingdom’s Vision-driven retail build-out to keep pulling marquee Western concepts into Riyadh and Jeddah at pace.
Source: PR Newswire — Chipotle Debuts in Saudi Arabia with First Restaurant in Riyadh
