The Chipotlane Digital Kitchen features a small footprint, but no dining room or a front line. It’s equipped with a make line that’s optimized for digital orders.
Chipotlane is a new fast-casual restaurant that will allow guests to order their food and receive it delivered to their door. It features a walk-in or drive-thru window.
Chipotlanes are a key part of the Chipotle’s strategy to grow. The company currently has over 300 Chipotlanes across the US.
Chipotlanes have been successfully introduced since early 2018. They deliver an improved guest experience and are helping drive sales for the restaurants.
With over 3,000 restaurants in North America, and a long-term goal to have 6,000 locations in the region, Chipotle is continuing to learn how to accelerate its Chipotlane expansion.
Related: Does Chipotle Have A Rewards Program
Chipotle Drive Thru
The drive-thru expansion comes as fast-food and casual brands are trying to improve their operations by opening more locations.
McDonald’s is leading the way in terms of drive-thru orders globally. Even rival Saladgreen is jumping on the trend.
The concept of Chipotle is that customers pick the ingredients they want in a burrito or a bowl using an assembly line. The company also has a second assembly line that’s used behind the scenes.
That section is focused on making digital orders, which would be the kind of business that Chipotlane would thrive on.
How Does a Chipotlane work?
The app is required for all mobile orders. When activated, it shows nearby restaurants and Chipotlane locations. To get the address and phone number of a restaurant, select a specific restaurant.
From there, the entire menu appears on the app. I prefer digital ordering at Chipotle because it eliminates the line.
It’s also easy to add sides like chips and guac before you place an order. You can also customize the pickup option.
You can also customize a pickup time and make it ready when you get there. You can also pay using your Apple Pay or another credit card.
The actual Chipotle was not busy, though it had a few other stores nearby. It opened in December of 2017 in a strip mall.
The drive-thru is typically not as fast as some of the newer concepts, but it is still fairly standard. There’s only one window though, so it only works for picking up food.
Each order has a sticker that says the name and ingredients of the dish. This makes it easy to see which order was the right one.
In the future, mobile ordering and drive-thrus will become the norm. It’s also ideal for places like Chipotle that offer a lot of customization.
Digital Only Chipotle
The Mexican restaurant chain announced the launch of its digital-only quesadilla, which will be available in Canada starting March 11.
The Mexican-themed food was first introduced in select markets last spring. In June 2020, the company clarified that the product would be tested as a digital-only option in two markets.
For the launch week, the chain is offering a quesadilla with a variety of ingredients for a low delivery fee of $0. The order minimum is $10 for the entire week.
One of the reasons why the quesadilla fits as a digital only item is that it’s folded and pressed using a new Oven that’s only available in the company’s virtual kitchen.
The concept of the Chipotle digital kitchen was first introduced in November 2020. It was a store prototype that would allow the fast food chain to test out new products and deliver orders through its app.
The quesadilla is then cut into three pieces and delivered in a compostable packaging.
Related: Does Chipotle Use Real Chicken?
