By Maddy Hamlin
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006, The OG, news

IT IS a well-known fact that nothing motivates high school students more than food, especially when it's free. Luckily for Uni students, free food is exactly what will be coming their way next week, courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Each day, a different grade level of students is invited to come to the restaurant (located at 528 E. Green St., Champaign, next to Noodles & Co.), starting with the senior class:

— Monday, Dec. 11: seniors
— Tuesday, Dec. 12: juniors
— Wednesday, Dec. 13: sophomores
— Thursday, Dec. 14: freshmen
— Friday, Dec. 15: subbies

Your Uni ID will provide access to your choice of a burrito, tacos, or what the restaurant calls a “bol” (burrito ingredients mixed in a bowl with no tortilla, eaten with a fork), and a drink. Faculty are welcome to come any or every day of the week and must also notify the Chipotle staff of their association with Uni.

Chipotle, which opened its Green Street site about a year ago, is a Colorado-based restaurant chain that recently separated itself from McDonald's Corp. The Green Street restaurant is managed locally by Bob Kadlec. Since the time of the store's opening, Kadlec has been working to bring the Uni community into the restaurant as customers.

“The basic fact is that there is no in-house cafeteria [at Uni],” he said.

Uni students' tendency to wander over to the Green Street area for lunch is also a major opportunity for the businesses there, who want to capitalize on teens' hunger.

According to Kassie Patton, Kadlec first contacted her a year ago, when the store was new, about his desire to reach out to the Uni community, starting with a faculty lunch. After a free lunch had been provided for the faculty, the next natural step was to increase the scope of Kadlec's generosity to the include students of the school.

“I thought it would be a nice way to end the year for students,” he remarked, referring to the upcoming winter break.

Student response to Chipotle's offer is positive so far, and many seem ready to make the trek to Green Street next week.

“Sounds tasty,” commented senior Sam Klein. Added his classmate Emily Kamm, “I'm super excited about free burrito day!”

Because U of I classes are still in session next week, Uni students will not be the only ones patronizing the restaurant. For this reason, Kadlec and Patton request that everyone wishing to partake of this bounteous (and free) repast do so only on their designated day.

Patton would also like for students to be sure to say a special “thank you” to Kadlec — or “Bob,” as he prefers — for providing them with this nutritious opportunity.

The choice of food is up to you. As for Bob, he calls himself a “traditionalist,” commenting that his dish of choice is the Chicken Bol, with extra rice and beans.

Note: As junior Shara Esbenshade points out in her comment below, Chipotle has been the target of protests over the treatment of farm workers, who say the company's “food with integrity” philosophy should apply to more than food ingredients. See “RELATED” for a link to Shara's Oct. 18 column on that topic.

RELATED

— Column: Standing up for a living wage

— Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Campaign against Chipotle

— Chipotle Mexican Grill: Company Web site