Taco Bell is building a 4-lane, 2-story drive-thru next summer see what it will look like

2021-08-12T18:52:37Z

• Taco Bell is planning a four-lane drive-thru to open next summer.
• Earlier this year it debuted two-lane Mobile Go restaurants.
• Drive-thrus have been key for fast food restaurants over the last year. 

Drive-thrus are key to Taco Bell's business, and have only grown more important in the last two years.

A Taco Bell employee delivers an order to a customer at the drive-up window of the restaurant on March 31, 2020. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Source: Insider

A new concept, in partnership with one of the largest Taco Bell franchisees, will have four drive-thru lanes.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

Three lanes will be for mobile and delivery orders, serving customers who ordered the Taco Bell app or another delivery service.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

The concept includes a section for customers to park and order on their phones.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

The fourth drive-thru lane will be more traditional, where customers order and receive their food.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

Mobile order customers, who will presumably make up a higher proportion of customers at this location, can scan their orders with QR codes at digital check-in screens.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

The actual process of getting food "defies gravity," according to Taco Bell.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

Food delivery is contactless through a lift system, along with audio and video connections to Taco Bell staff.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

Taco Bell's kitchen will be elevated above the drive-thru lanes, which minimized the footprint of the restaurant.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

The new Taco Bell Defy location is scheduled to open in summer 2022 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Taco Bell's new concept is set to open in summer 2022. Taco Bell

Taco Bell has prioritized its drive-thrus over the past year and made some major changes as a result.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Source: Insider

To some customers' dismay, last year the chain cut over a dozen items, including potatoes, to shorten wait times.

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Source: Insider

The cuts paid off — in the third quarter of 2020, Taco Bell served 30 million more customers than in all of 2019, and each order was completed on average 17 seconds faster.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Source: Insider

Taco Bell introduced Go Mobile restaurants earlier this year, focused especially on mobile and pickup orders.

Taco Bell

Source: Insider

This concept looks like an earlier iteration of the Defy concept, with two drive-thru lanes to accommodate mobile orders and traditional drive-thru.

Three Taco Bells in Oklahoma and Texas have added dual drive-thru lanes as part of the new Go Mobile format. Taco Bell

Source: Insider

"The Taco Bell Go Mobile restaurant concept is not only an evolved physical footprint, but a completely synchronized digital experience centered around streamlining guest access points," Mike Grams, Taco Bell's president and global chief operating officer said at the time.

A Taco Bell in Oklahoma has been converted into a Go Mobile format. Taco Bell

Source: Insider

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.

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