Sometimes its hard to be Original

I'm a Chipotle lover. Not the pepper, the fast food chain. I can inhale a 1,000 calorie Chipotle chicken Burrito as if it were Ambrosia, becoming more delicious with each bite. One of the things I like about Chipotle is its originality. It's like Subway, but with tortillia's and a funky attitude that doesn't take things to seriously (except for the food).

But then I ate at a Qdoba. Mysteriously, this seemed to be rather the same experience. Same basic food, similar layout, and groovy tunes. I did some superficial research which didn't explain the similarities between the 2 chains. See for yourself: Qdoba and Chipotle's seem to be the same.

Nearest I can tell, Chipotle's started the trend, was so sucessful, that Qdoba opened up in the same general vicinity to cash in any overflow bucks (even Mcdonald's and Burger King are more distinct). It's interesting, because while the ingredients at both places are nearly identical, it's the customers choice what you slab on your tortillia. As a result, I guess there isn't any infringement going on. Unless anyone can provide an insight.

It's hard to be original.