>

And this is why capitalism failed... All because of the greed of ALL the profits instead of "some" profits. Spending money to avoid their workers from making livable wages, thus making money out of their ~~slaves~~ workers.
Chipotle, the company that stole workers wages and then forced many of those same workers into arbitration when they got caught rather than just fucking paying what they owed. 
And then Chipotle had the fucking gall to try and get out of the arbitration it had forced those folks into. 
Fuck that shithole. >

I also personally see more complaints about Chipotle’s shrinkflation than any other food joints. >

The Chipotle near my work started trying to charge for extra rice. That's some bullshit man. It's not an extra charge on the app or anything. >

Last time I went to Chipotle, they tried charging for extra rice. I just said "Ok, fine", payed my tab, ate my food, and haven't gone back since. That was a year ago, and I eat fast food on the weekly. This chipotle is at the end of my street. I WOULD go there more often, but I'm not going to be nickle and dimed like that. It's bad enough that in 5 years the burrito prices are DOUBLE what they were. Used to be $6.10, now they're $12.50. Who knows what they are now. That was a year ago. 
When I first started going in 2006, they used to scoop your chicken on. Some of them would even do 2-3 scoops. They were like "fuck it!" 
Now, you see them scoop the chicken, and then put it into these little portion control cups, which is like half a scoop. 
Between that, and the way they handled covid (some days closed, some days open, some days open but app only, some days you could order but not dine in, other days you could dine in, and you never knew which until you got there.)
Between all that, I said fuck them, and I haven't gone back to a chipotle since. If you're going to treat your customers like that, then fuck off. >

I don’t get how Chipotle stays in business in the western US. I can get the best burritos in the country in CA which are double the size but cost less. Which is ironic because Chipotle moved their headquarters from Denver to SoCal. >

Which place would those bigger, cheaper burritos be found? >

Taquerias. Most taquerias are cheaper for the same if not bigger burrito. I go to one that’s on the way from work whenever I get the burrito itch >

100% this. Literally any taco truck around town, or any restaurant owned and operated by actual Mexican people, will get you far better food for a reasonable price. Take a long lunch & explore the area around your work; you may find a hidden gem. >

One of the things I love about being just a bit outside of a small/medium sized city in PA is the amazing food diversity. There’s a Main Street of the area just across the bridge from downtown. I can get Indian (just had the best pad Thai I’ve ever tasted tonight), Mexican, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Irish, English etc that is all authentic, no stops pulled to make it Americanized. 
It has the American stuff as well, great burgers, BBQ, sandwiches, etc. If I could afford to eat out more often I would. But we both love cooking and whip up some wonderful stuff with a lot less money. 
Try to keep it to once a month or so as a “date” night with the wife. There are more cuisines in that two mile stretch than anywhere else in the county, including directly in the city where it is more sectionalized, if that makes sense. >

Pad Thai is Thai, but the rest of your post is on point. >

I am surprised about In-N-Out, since they're know for paying $18 per hr right off the bat, which placed them higher than other fast food places and warehouses.
The only place they don't pay that high is the few locations they have in TX, where it's $12. >

But is that 40 hours at $18/hr? With benefits? That's the thing that always gets me. I see these places in my neck of the woods (Central PA), like Sheetz, etc., advertising $18/hr but is that just 15 hours a week? Or full-time with bennies? >

Managers are full time, but I think everyone else is part-time, just skating under full-time hours (I'd guess a lot are 20-35 hours a week).
Most of the employees I see at my local In-N-Out are high school and college aged. >

I worked 38 hours a week in highschool because they wanted me to be full time but not have benifits. >

Sounds like me when I worked at Walmart.  Close to full time, but not close enough to 40 hours to be full time and get benefits.
Of course, I was also working at another job (I was an usher in Guest Services for the Sacramento Kings), so I wouldn't have been able to hit full time even if I wanted to.  12-14 day stretches with no days off, either working at the store or working something at the arena... >

Is it true Walmart doesn't pay 1.5x if you were to work holidays? >

Yes. I worked there in high school. They also don't consider you full time unless you work 40 hours for a set amount of weeks consecutively (can't remember the exact number) so they would work people 40 hours multiple weeks in a row and then give them 38 the week it would make them full time to fuck them out of benefits. 
Walmart is a scum fuck company and if you have any other options for groceries please avoid giving Walmart money. >

I’m sure most companies are doing this all while complaining no one wants to work. Such a failed system. >

And getting a not insignificant amount of people to repeat that stupid phrase. >

Again
SPENDING MILLIONS to block raises >

They would rather pay lobbyists and lawyers than their own workers.