---
title: "Driving the Competition: Fast-Casual Chain Eateries Are Implementing Drive-Thru's to Compete with Fast-Food Giants"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/256efc82-281e-4996-aa09-aa5c0af814a6
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/driving-the-competition-fast-casual-chain-eateries-are-implementing-drive-thrus-to-compete-with-fast-food-giants-2709766
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2019-04-24T03:22:34.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:34:05.640Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/25c65234b4dd64c8f1cd1ca78f37122c4597.jpg
---

# Driving the Competition: Fast-Casual Chain Eateries Are Implementing Drive-Thru's to Compete with Fast-Food Giants

**TL;DR:** Fast-casual chains like Starbucks and Chipotle are implementing drive-thru services to compete with fast-food giants and provide convenience to customers. Expanding franchises such as Starbucks and Chipotle are testing the waters of the digital drive-thru, mobile orders and delivery world.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-04-24. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/driving-the-competition-fast-casual-chain-eateries-are-implementing-drive-thrus-to-compete-with-fast-food-giants-2709766).*

## Story

Expanding franchises such as Starbucks and Chipotle are testing the waters of the digital drive-thru, mobile orders and delivery world. As a means to compete against fast-food giants and provide convenience, fast-casual brands are re-entering the market with a veritable feast of options for customers on the go.

According to Business Insider, “In February, Chipotle announced it planned to open more mobile-order pickup lanes, called ‘Chipotlanes.’ Chipotle will open most of these at new locations, as opposed to adding the drive-thru lanes to existing stores.”

Delving into mobile-ordering pickup lanes certainly is a way for companies to bypass the third-party cost and ordering system with companies such as DoorDash and Grubhub. Since remodeling is only an option for some standing locations, the newest locations will include drive-up lanes or mobile-order pickup lanes as both are growing in popularity and aid revenue for brands.

According to Starbucks, over 80% of its new locations opened in fiscal 2018 were drive-thrus. Business Insider reported, “Stores with drive-thrus ‘well outperformed’ overall comparable sales, and the company plans to continue to focus on drive-thrus in the coming year.”

As mobile-order pickup lanes become popular in metropolis regions, suburban areas will see an increase in drive-thru locations.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- fast casual (topic)
- Starbucks (company)
- DoorDash (company)
- Chipotle (company)
- Grubhub (company)
- mobile ordering (topic)
- drive-thru expansion (topic)
- competition with fast food (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/driving-the-competition-fast-casual-chain-eateries-are-implementing-drive-thrus-to-compete-with-fast-food-giants-2709766). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/256efc82-281e-4996-aa09-aa5c0af814a6).