2007 CEO of the year: Chipotle's Steve Ells pursues fast-casual perfection.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Occupation overview

"I ate the first burrito. Steve prepared it for me at his house. It wasn't even Chipotle yet. It was 1992ish, I was back in town, and Steve called me up and asked my father and me to go to his house for dinner that night. I would ALWAYS accept those invitations. I was hoping he'd go into some detail about some wonderful thing he was making. But this time he said 'burritos.' I had this sinking feeling my stomach. The excitement I'd had the moment before started to vanish. Because I thought, 'Burrito? Well, it'll be OK, but how good could a burrito really be?' "We showed up, and Steve had created the Chipotle burrito. He even had the mini basket with the basket liner. He prepared it wrapped in foil just like they are today, but he had prepared them in his kitchen in Boulder. "It's funny because Steve never really looks to what others think. He sort of knew it was good and so he was like, 'Here's what I'm going to do.' But he did want our feedback. And by the way, you should have tasted that first burrito." --Chipotle President Monty Moran on company founder and CEO Steve Ells Skipping ahead 15 years, Steve ells now heads a Chipotle Mexican Grill empire that's increased to 670 restaurants nationwide and is on track in 2007 for its 10th straight year of double-digit same-store revenue growth. For the third quarter of this year, Chipotle's net income increased 75 percent, and revenue increased 36 percent over the same quarter in 2006.

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Ells might be the only fast-casual restaurant CEO in the country who is a classically trained chef. After earning a degree in art history from the University of Colorado, he went on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde, N.Y. Then, while working as a line cook at Stars restaurant in San Francisco, he noticed the long lines that formed for the inexpensive giant burritos in the city's Mission District.

Ells saw the potential, only he would improve on it: Giant burritos would become the vessels for serving up fine-restaurant quality ingredients like cilantro lime rice, black and pinto beans, guacamole and salsas made only with freshly chopped tomatoes, onions and peppers.

He returned to Denver and borrowed $85,000 from his dad, a pharmaceutical executive, to open the first Chipotle on East Evans Avenue near the University of Denver campus. The restaurants multiplied, helped by an eight-year partnership with McDonald's.

Since the company went public in January 2006, its opening-day price of $22 has increased more than fivefold. Jim Cramer, the ubiquitous TV stock picker, has been a fan almost since Chipotle opened its first restaurants in New York's financial district in 2003, and Cramer...