Chick-fil-A to open first of its kind digital-only restaurant

THE final days are approaching before Chick-fil-A opens a first-of-its-kind digital-only restaurant for customers with its mobile application.

A grand opening for the unique variation of the fast food giant is set on the Upper East Side of New York City.

Chick-fil-A confirmed the first day of business for the location would be March 21, per Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN).

It will feature only mobile pickup orders and has no dining area or place to order inside.

There will instead be “pathways” set up for mobile app pickups and delivery drivers to seamlessly grab pre-paid orders and leave.

Both paths also include a status screen so drivers and customers can determine when their meal is ready.

Nathanial Cates, senior principal design lead for Chick-fil-A, said the order status addition should prevent backups in line.

“These status boards will specify each order’s status as ‘preparing’ or ‘ready,’ prompting when the customer or delivery driver should come to the front to mitigate congestion in the restaurant and increase speed of service,” Cates wrote to NRN.

He noted further that customers should ultimately spend less time waiting for their food from Chick-fil-A with the streamlined mobile pickup store.

This would be in large part due to the removal of the dine-in process.

It instead “focuses the emphasis on team members’ signature hospitality as the focal point of the design,” according to Cates.

“Although this is a mobile or delivery-focused experience, the restaurant’s layout ensures that our signature hospitality is at the forefront,” he assured.

Chick-fil-A also removed the concern for those customers who want a meal but show up without ordering ahead.

There is a QR code inside that hungry fans can scan and then place an order with through the app on their mobile device.

The prototype location has a square footage of 3,500, mostly attributed to the kitchen and preparation areas.

Cates noted that the front area of the location where customers and drivers come to pick up orders is about 400 square feet in comparison.

For reference, standard Chick-fil-A spots are about 5,000 to 6,500 square feet.

The new location will also only house about 40 employees, with most in the kitchen and a select few up front for customer and delivery driver needs.

The decision to invest in the mobile pickup restaurant was part of a financial test from the brand and to appeal to residents in The Big Apple.

DELIVERY DOMINATION

It noted continually increased sales from mobile and delivery orders across the United States, presenting an opportunity to try a restaurant location that combined the best of both.

The city made for the ideal test market because over half of Chick-fil-A’s revenue within it is made from mobile ordering.

Cates also noted that New Yorkers typically like efficiency.

“In a fast-paced urban environment, sometimes hospitality is best delivered through convenient locations and quick service,” he told NRN.

“We know our NYC customers have a strong appetite for convenience and fast service.”

He continued that Chick-fil-A will monitor the prototype’s performance to see if it would be beneficial to implement more in and outside of New York City.

Khalilah Cooper, Chick-fil-A’s executive director of restaurant design, also noted that an elevated drive-thru experience will be tested in Atlanta around the same time as part of the company’s efforts to remain forward-thinking.

“We want to show up uniquely in different markets to help meet the needs of different customers, and we want to have more flexibility,” she told the publication in an interview.

“In some markets, we might have access to different parcels, and that’s ok because we just have to be innovative.”

“We are thinking about the types of ways customers want to engage with us and making sure our designs meet those expectations,” she added.

It’s unclear the exact date when the elevated drive-thru prototype opens.

For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun’s exclusive coverage of Chick-fil-A’s secret headquarters, where new treats are being tested.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on the $29 voucher Chick-fil-A customers could get by checking their delivery history.