Chipotle Mexican Grill is slated to open a new restaurant concept today in Washington D.C. The concept, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, is inspired by the traditional shophouses found throughout Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Shophouses are classical two or three-story buildings where families live upstairs and run restaurants or fresh markets on the ground level.

The ShopHouse menu will pair the bold and complex flavors of southeast Asia with fresh, sustainably raised ingredients; grilled and braised meats, a variety of fresh vegetables, aromatic herbs, spicy sauces, and an array of garnishes. Ingredients on the menu include garlic, lemongrass, ginger, tumeric, galangal (blue ginger), cilantro, tamarind, and more. Customers will move along a service line and customize their meal according to flavor preference and diet, in a format similar to the one that has become the hallmark of Chipotle’s success. The public will get to choose bowl or banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) along with choice of meat like grilled beef, grilled pork, and tofu. We also here that sriracha sauce will readily available.

“Anyone who has traveled throughout Southeast Asia can tell you that food there is served very fast – it’s also full of flavor, nutritious, and affordable,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “This cuisine gives us a great opportunity to prove the idea that the Chipotle model can work with other cuisines.”

Time lapse of ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen setup

Various media outlets have photos of ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen:
DCist: