Chipotle Is Opening Its First Drive-Thru Window

chipotle food
Laura Murray/Thrillist
Laura Murray/Thrillist

Good news if you've long waited for the day when Chipotle will let you skip the assembly line and scoop up a jam-packed burrito bowl without having to leave your car: the burrito chain just announced that it will debut its first-ever drive-thru window this fall. Finally.

The announcement came during the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, which also included news that the company will be expanding availability of its first-ever queso dip to 350 locations beginning August 1. According to Chipotle execs, the first drive-up will debut at a single location in Ohio, and while they didn't comment on whether there are plans to add drive-thrus to other locations, it's likely using this as a test case and will expand if its successful.

Interestingly, Chipotle calls it a "vehicular pickup window" instead of a drive-thru, a conscious choice by the company to distance itself from old-school fast food joints, according to a report by Eater. However, Chipotle execs seemed to be well-aware that the brand needs to keep up with what customers want in order to win them back in the wake of its variousPR crises. As its Chief Marketing and Development Officer Mark Crumpacker said, "We need to evolve the Chipotle experience."

The drive-thru window at the undisclosed Ohio location will open sometime this fall, so ask your buddies in the Buckeye State to try to frequent it as much as possible, and maybe the burrito overlords will be well-enough convinced that they're worth introducing all over.

h/tEater, Business Insider

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Joe McGauley is a senior writer for Thrillist. Follow him @jwmcgauley.