Chipotle's Founder Also Owns This NYC Restaurant

Chipotle Mexican Grill founder Steve Ells helped pioneer fast-casual dining when he opened the first location of the wildly successful chain in Denver in 1993. The Culinary Institute of America-trained chef had only intended it as a way to make money to open a fine dining restaurant, but it quickly gained a following, and a second location followed in 1995. Its concept uses a fast food-style setting, but with better, fresh ingredients (which is why you won't find a freezer at Chipotle), at a customer cost that's a little higher, but generally still affordable. After leaving as Chipotle's CEO in 2018 and executive chairman in 2020, Ells is now trying related ideas with sandwiches. 

Ells debuted New York City's Counter Service in 2025 with Peloton co-founder Tom Cortese as CEO, which, as of April 2026, has five Manhattan locations and one in Brooklyn. The fast-casual restaurant serves sandwiches featuring house-made roasted meats instead of cold cuts, as well as breakfast sandwiches created by a one-time chef at NYC's Eleven Madison Park. The sauces and desserts are also produced in-house, pickles are supplied by a New Jersey pickle maker, and Counter Service gets its artisan-made bread delivered daily.

The restaurants have digital ordering kiosks that serve up some New York City nostalgia, designed to look like old-school street pay phones. Customers can also place orders online and earn points with the rewards program.

Before opening Counter Service, Steve Ells launched another fast-casual place in New York called Kernel in 2024 that was vegan and had a technology focus, with robot arms making food. When it didn't catch on, Ells turned his attention to sandwiches. Technology is still a central part of the concept, but it's more behind the scenes instead of visible to customers. The goal is to use tech and automation to increase efficiency, so it's affordable to produce high-quality sandwiches and grow. Counter Service uses its own restaurant management software to do that for things like operating logistics and order flow.

The menu's sandwiches include Buffalo Chicken, Steak + Mushroom Melt, Cheese Toastie with provolone and cheddar, and a Bánh Mì with charred pork and house-made chicken liver pâté. The Smokeshow features roasted chicken in smoky barbecue sauce, cheddar, cabbage slaw, and three types of jalapeños: pickled, roasted, and smoked. Some other choices are The Baron, with roasted beef, cheddar, watercress, and horseradish, and vegetarian The Gigante, filled with rainbow chard, kale, white beans, parmesan, broccoli rabe, fontina and provolone cheeses, and banana peppers. The scrambled egg breakfast sandwiches come with potatoes and cheese and extra options like garlic sausage, roasted beef, and broccoli rabe, including a rendition of a bacon, egg, and cheese that comes with chive mayo.

Waffle fries, dill pickle potato salad, and broccoli rabe are among the sides, as well as Sweet + Spicy Broken Pretzels. Counter Service's own Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie is the star dessert, and Malted Cookie Crisp is chunks of it mixed with malted milk and baked again.