The pandemic is sparking a boom in an often-overlooked type of property, the drive-through, reports The Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2021). Food halls and restaurants have taken a big hit from frequent limits on seating capacity during the Covid-19 crisis. But chains such as Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, and Checkers & Rally’s said they are enjoying a sales uptick at stores with drive-through lanes, which have become more popular during the pandemic. As we discuss in the Chapter 9’s Global Company Profile on layout at McDonald’s (pages 368-9), drive-throughs have been ubiquitous since the 1970s. Now they are critical. “You can pull up in your car and stay socially distant,” said one industry CEO.
Even restaurant chains that have never offered drive-through options are rolling out lanes. Shake Shack is building its first drive-through this year in Orlando. Some restaurant chains that already rely on drive-throughs are bulking up with even grander versions, in part to help meet a rise in digital orders. Burger King unveiled plans for future restaurants designed with triple drive-through lanes. One of the lanes would be reserved for customers who order online.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is expanding a similar strategy. The company plans to add 200 locations this year, with many offering customers the option to pick up digital orders via drive-throughs the company calls Chipotlanes. Starbucks just said that it expects to open about 800 stores annually, particularly in suburban locations with drive-through lanes. The company added that stores with these lanes drove half of net sales last year, up more than 10% from pre-pandemic levels.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Is building a 3 lane drive-through the right long-term decision?
- What location issues (Ch. 8) must be considered in adding this layout to a restaurant?