Behold The Burger King Of The Future

By  Lillian Stone

I had my first date at a Burger King. Naturally, when my suitor picked me up, my Very Scary Dad told him to keep his hands to himself. So I think my dad would be pleased to know that Burger King leadership took his advice to heart: it has unveiled new store plans that offer a largely touchless "enhanced guest experience" in a "COVID world."

Created by the Restaurant Brands International design group, the plans include features like food lockers and conveyor belts for a contactless guest experience that also feels like something out of The Jetsons. The new designs, which have a physical footprint 60% smaller than a traditional BK, have a few key features:

  • Drive-in or drive-thru: Traditionalists can cruise through a double or triple drive-thru featuring a leafy green "living wall." Guests can also park in a solar-powered drive-in area and order through the BK app, prompting BK team members to deliver food to the guests' vehicles.
  • Curbside delivery and pickup: Guests can order in advance from the app and snag their food from curbside delivery parking spots. Alternatively, guests who can't bear to look at another human face can order via the app and pick up their food from coded food lockers facing the exterior of the store.
  • Suspended Kitchen and Dining Room: Move over, Hanging Gardens of Babylon. One completely touchless design features a suspended kitchen and dining room designed to reduce the building's footprint densely populated cities. Drive-thru guests at these locations will pull into a designated spot to have their ordered delivered by conveyor belt. (The future is now!)

    • The first ultra-modern Burger King stores are slated to open in Miami, Latin America, and the Caribbean in 2021. In the meantime, you can peep at the renderings on YouTube.

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