Chick-fil-A plans to test two new restaurant concepts that it says are designed to better serve its customers: a tunnel drive-thru, in which cars pass under a second-story kitchen, and a walk-up design for smaller, urban spaces. Both are slated to open in 2024, with the drive-thru concept being located in the Atlanta metro area and the walk-up configuration opening in New York.
The two-story layout translates into more kitchen space on a parcel that’s similar in size to the chain’s traditional locales. The concept has four drive-thru lanes, with two being dedicated to customers who have placed their order via the company’s app, and the others for customers who want to place their order with an employee. The walk-up concept takes online orders only, and does not have any cash registers or drink stations.
“We want to leverage technology to elevate the human touchpoints in our restaurants,” said Khalilah Cooper, Executive Director, Restaurant Design. “These new digital formats make the customer and Team Member experience more seamless, and therefore more memorable, and give back precious time to connect with each other.”