Future Burger Kings Will Feature Multiple Drive-Thru Lanes, Easy Pickup Zones
Chains are continuing to reinvent the drive-thru as the pandemic passes the six-month mark.
The coronavirus pandemic has officially passed the six-month mark, and as we continue to navigate life amidst the global health crisis, restaurant chains are innovating to keep up with the times. Burger King is just the latest to do so, unveiling a new design concept on Thursday that features increased ordering and delivery options as well as a dedicated outdoor patio for dining.
The concept, which was imagined by Restaurant Brands International's in-house design group, is set to bring dedicated mobile order and curbside pickup zones, drive-in and walk-up order areas, an enhanced drive-thru, and those aforementioned outdoor dining areas, which will serve as a replacement for the typical indoor dining room as it continues to pose a health risk.
"In March our in-house design and tech team accelerated new restaurant design plans and pushed the limits of what a Burger King restaurant could be," RBI chief operating officer Josh Kobza said in a statement. "We took into consideration how consumer behaviors are changing and our guests will want to interact with our restaurants. The result is a new design concept that is attractive to guests and will allow our franchisees to maximize their return."
The design emphasizes to-go options and outdoor dining as our world continues to navigate this pandemic. Customers will be able to pick up preorders from designated parking spots, as well as coded food lockers on the exterior of the building. The entire concept will be 100% touch-less, Burger King said.
"The designs we’ve created completely integrate restaurant functionality and technology. The restaurant of the tomorrow merges the best functional technology with unique modern design to elevate our Burger King guest experience," Global head of design at RBI Rapha Abreu said in the statement. "We designed the interior and exterior spaces like we had a blank sheet of paper, designing without preconceived notions of how a Burger King restaurant should look."
Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.