Fast food chains fared slightly better than the restaurant industry as a whole during the coronavirus pandemic. However, plans recently unveiled by one of the largest fast food chains Burger King show how the “era of coronavirus” has changed this typical American “snack” process.
The restaurant of the future project, accompanied by a promotional video, envisions a major overhaul of the chain’s concept, with an emphasis on drive-thru and take-away. The physical presence of customers inside restaurants will be reduced by 60%. In one design of the restaurant, the kitchen and dining area overhang widened lanes for vehicles to which orders will be delivered by conveyor belts.
Other elements of the new design include a customer service window without entering the restaurant premises; parking lots located under awnings, where customers, using the bar code available in the menu, will be able to place an order and receive it right there; cells. “All of these elements of the new design will completely dispense with personal contact between customers and restaurant staff,” the chain’s press release says.
Other fast food chains, including Taco Bell, Shake Shack, Chipotle and Panera, are also planning to rethink their customer service concepts to best fit their post-pandemic world. And new designs for Burger King restaurants will debut next year in Miami, Florida, as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.