Never been in the food industry, always been in something software related.
I give the masses what they want. A long while back Gaborn (rest in peace!) and I used to post more depressing news stuff, and when that fell out of favor people preferred the random food news (fast food in particular) that I would post from time to time. And here we are!
The lack of fries probably makes a sizeable difference. But I'll be damned if I ever don't get fries the few times a year I get fast food.
Also what's the deal with calling Chipotle "health obsessed" in that bolded sentence? Chipotle may obsess over being fresh, but goddam those burritos and burrito bowls have like 1400 calories, it's like eating 3 big macs.
It's still fast food obviously, but the point this is making is that they are offering better alternatives for those that still include fast food in diets or eat occasionally. Not like it's suddenly high end health cuisine, though there is some of that marketing lingo in this article.
Some of it is probably better for you than Chipotle, calories and sodium wise.