There haven’t been many advancements in fast food drive-thru design . . . other than stuff like digital screens to quickly check your order, and re-routing the line to keep it from spilling into the street.
But Taco Bell is opening a new drive-thru “concept” in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota TODAY . . . and it’s a glimpse into the future. There are two main perks:
There are four lanes, and each has a special designation. Two are only for customers who pre-ordered through the app . . . one is dedicated to delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash . . . and one is for traditional orders.
To handle four lanes, the building is two stories, and you actually drive below a portion of the second floor. And instead of your food being handed to you through a window, it’s sent DOWN to you in a mini elevator called a “vertical lift.”
These new drive-thrus are called “Taco Bell Defy,” and while there’s nothing EARTH-SHATTERING about the design, the idea is to reduce service times for drive-thru orders to under TWO MINUTES, and this could do that. Oh, and it’s all about drive-thru at “Taco Bell Defy.” There’s no indoor dining.