No contact. No dine-in. Tacos delivered directly to your car
It’s clear that fast-food restaurants have responded to the COVID-19 challenge. IBISWorld estimates that the fast-food industry earned $240 billion in 2020. Although it was less than in previous years, it is still a significant increase over traditional restaurants. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Taco Bell held steady in 2020. This leads to an interesting perspective on a future without fast food.
Border Foods is the company behind the bizarre-looking Taco Bell that you see at the top. It is one of the largest Taco Bell franchises across the US. The company’s goal is to create the ultimate drive-thru, which can handle multiple cars simultaneously and completely eliminate the need for dine-in. This is not the same drive-up line you see at your bank. Instead of cash or checking your bank account, you would get Crunchwraps and Cheesy Gorditas or good old tacos. These items are considered more valuable than gold by some.
The proposed drive-up would eliminate human contact in your car. There is one specialty lane for hungry drivers to place orders and pick up the food from a traditional window. Rest of the lanes could be used to place orders online or via an app. The food would then be delivered to the cars using a small food elevator known as a dumbwaiter. The kitchen is actually located above the drive-thru lanes.
This means that you won’t be able to peek inside any more to see if a park and order run to the counter is quicker than waiting in a drive-up lane or if the room is quiet enough to enjoy a peaceful sit-down dinner in the dining area. It seems that there is no need to peek inside, since we don’t see any windows in the proposed Taco Bell. This should create a great working environment.
Border Foods proposes to build a futuristic Taco Bell in Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis. However, it may not be entirely drive-up. Bring Me The News suggests that an indoor counter might be available for those who are unable to walk to get food. Construction could start in May 2021 if everything goes according to plan.