Chipotle out of character in struggle to win back customers

After a series of food scares drove customers away, the company has turned to more traditional advertising, expanded its famously simple menu to add chorizo and even inaugurated a summertime loyalty program.

Despite Chipotle's assurances that it has taken steps to tighten food safety procedures after the E. coli outbreak and norovirus cases starting last fall that sickened people around the country, many are still staying away.

In the first three months of the year, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.'s sales were down 30 percent at established locations and the company posted its first quarterly loss as a public company.