A preview of Taco Bell’s Go Mobile restaurant design
Source: Taco Bell
Taco Bell unveiled its latest restaurant design on Thursday, intended to encourage customers to pre-order their nachos and burritos and keep drive-thru lines short, as the coronavirus pandemic leaves lasting marks on consumer behavior.
The pandemic has prompted many restaurant chains, including Starbucks, Shake Shack and Chipotle Mexican Grill, to consider their designs or speed up changes already in the works.
Surgery of use of powered lanes, online ordering and delivery in recent months has put operations under pressure. In the second quarter of Taco Bell, it earned an additional 4.8 million cars via powered lane compared to a year earlier, even as sales from the same store decreased 8%.
The latest design of the Yum Brands chain includes two drive-thru routes, one of which will be for picking up orders made via its mobile app, following a trend set by Chipotle with its “Chipotlanes.”
“We’ve got a lot of franchisees interested in expanding drive-thru capacity,” said Taco Bell Global Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams.
The new “Go Mobile” design also includes parking spaces designated for contactless pick-up from inside and indoor shelves for requesting digital orders. The size of the dining rooms will vary in size, depending on the market.
A view of a Taco Bell Go Mobile restaurant
Source: Taco Bell
But it’s not just Taco Bell’s outdoor and dining halls that will see some changes. The kitchens will be refurbished with technology that tells employees the fastest way to place the order and communicates with the customer the easiest way to pick up the food. Grams compared it to air traffic control at an airport.
“The customer still has control, but we help them,” he said.
Customers who choose the proposed pickup method will earn more points in Taco Bell’s loyalty program.
Two new locations in businesses with dual drive routes, high-tech kitchens and other novelties are expected to open in the first three months of 2021. Grams said Taco Bell plans to redesign existing restaurants in the new designing and working with franchisees on building their own versions.
“Wherever you have cars, cars, access to delivery – these restaurants will play both the suburban and urban environment,” Grams said.
The chain will incorporate the Go Mobile design at traditional Taco Bell locations, as well as its smaller city restaurants and more upscale Cantinas.
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