Chick-fil-A is planning to open a first-of-its-kind restaurant in New York City next week, which will feature no menu boards, cash registers or seating.
According to The Christian Post, the restaurant, which will be a 400-square-foot “grab-n-go” style establishment, is set to open on NYC’s Upper East Side March 21.
Customers will order ahead through the Chick-fil-A mobile app, and the restaurant will be notified by geofencing when they are on their way to pick up the food. Upon arrival, customers can see their name on a monitor and whether their order is ready or still being prepared. Once it’s ready, customers can pick up their food from an employee.
According to the company, the concept behind the new restaurant will “ensure each meal is timed with the customer’s arrival.”
Jared Caldwell, who previously owned and operated another Chick-fil-A on 3rd Avenue and 86th Street, will lead the new store on the Upper East Side.
“[W]e are always looking for ways to innovate and enhance the Guest experience,” Nathaniel Cates, senior principal design lead, said in a statement. “While digital concepts are becoming more prevalent, it’s important that we evolve in a uniquely Chick-fil-A way — meeting the changing needs of our customers without compromising the signature service and care they’ve grown to know and love.”
According to NBC’s Today show, about 50 percent of Chick-fil-A’s purchases are through mobile orders across the United States, with the amount being higher in urban areas such as New York City.
“Chick-fil-A wants to focus on serving the customer in the way that they want to be served,” Cates told the outlet.
In recent years, fast-food chains have given customers the opportunity to order ahead on their respective mobile apps, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which prevented customers from dining in.
Under the apps, customers can place their orders for pick up in drive-through, in-store or curbside delivery.
In 2020, Chipotle opened its first digital-only restaurant in Highland Falls, New York. Meanwhile, Taco Bell opened a two-story location in Minnesota, which includes four drive-through lanes that deliver food through an elevator system, instead of talking face-to-face with an employee.
Last year, Chick-fil-A announced plans to open its own elevated drive-through format, where the restaurant is positioned above four drive-through lanes.
“By building the kitchen above the drive-thru lanes, meals are expedited to the Team Member who delivers the order directly to the customer in a space protected by the upper level, so hospitality won’t be sacrificed for speed of service,” the announcement, made July 2023, reads. “Regardless of how you choose to order your meal, the restaurant design is made to elevate and accelerate the experience but keep the human interaction at its core.”
In September 2023, Chick-fil-A opened a restaurant in College Park, Maryland, featuring its Little Blue Menu. The menu includes items not seen in a typical Chick-fil-A menu including wings, burgers, and pizza.
“College Park is a hub for innovation, so we can think of no better place to introduce Little Blue Menu and give customers more of what they want,” L.J. Yankosky, senior director of the innovation and new ventures team at Chick-fil-A, said. “We can’t wait to serve the community and become an integral part of the local dining scene.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images / Justin Sullivan / Staff
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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