Technology

Why BurgerFi invested $50K to test drive-thru service

The drive-thru remodel, which includes two static menu boards on each side of a digital panel featuring a video loop designed by The Howard Company, cost the company $50,000.

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November 25, 2020 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

When better-burger concept BurgerFi opened several years ago in Florida, a drive-thru wasn't part of the plan. After all, the fast casual industry was still new, and the up-and-coming concepts were trying to set themselves apart from quick-service chains with innovative service models and higher-quality menu items that took a little longer to prepare.

Times, as they say, however, are changing, and true to the industry's innovative nature, BurgerFi's decision to test drive-thru service in Hamburg, Kentucky, is proof that the 125-unit chain understands the importance of pivoting to meet customers' needs.

"The drive-thru is a critical component of serving our guests without them coming inside our restaurants," CEO Julio Ramirez told FastCasual. "In addition, there are an abundance of second-generation restaurants with a drive-thru becoming available in the marketplace that we have an interest in possibly developing."

The drive-thru remodel, which includes two static menu boards on each side of a digital panel featuring a video loop designed by The Howard Company, cost the company $50,000. Ramirez expects to see at least an 18% bump in sales.

"The ROI on this incremental add-on will exceed 100%, or, in other words, we expect to recover this $50,000 investment in less than 12 months," he said.

For Ramirez to deem the project a success, the chain must deliver the food within 5-7 minutes — its current in-store times.

"We will obviously learn an exponential amount in our capability with each drive-thru we open," he said. "We are looking at doing other potentials drive-thru locations as part of the market mapping of our development portfolio."

About Cherryh Cansler

Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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