This Windowless Taco Bell Will Drop Food to You Through Dumbwaiters
The experimental building has four drive-thru lanes and no dining room.

Taco Bell is leaping into the future with a new windowless building design that will cater only to takeout orders. The experimental concept brings the digital-only restaurant trend to a new level, offering four drive-thru lanes serviced by two separate kitchens.
According to a proposal to the city of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where the Taco Bell will open later this year, the unprecedented location will focus heavily on app-based orders.
"The first drive-thru lane is for traditional menu ordering and face-to-face payment and food delivery," reads the proposal. "The other lanes are designated for app-based or delivery service ordering where payment is handled through the app or service."
As it turns out, this Taco Bell drive-thru doesn't just resemble that of a bank's, it functions like one too. Cars in the three outer lanes will receive their meals via dumbwaiter. In other words, food is prepared in the large, second-floor kitchen, then sent down to street-level in food elevators, at which point drivers will be able to reach out and grab it.
MORE: Several New Taco Bell Stores Will Feature 2 Drive-Thrus, 'Bellhops' & More
While there's no dining room, the first floor of the building will have a small indoor counter where people can walk in and order if they want a more traditional in-person experience. There will be a small kitchen behind the counter that exclusively services walk-up orders and the inner drive-thru lane.
If the Brooklyn Park experiment is successful, we might be seeing more Taco Bell restaurants like this. Of course, indoor dining areas are nice—but if you're taking your food to go anyway, this system sounds pretty fun.
Scroll to see more renderings of the first-of-its-kind Taco Bell store.




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.