Tata Starbucks open its first drive-thru restaurant in India

• Starbucks has opened the first drive-thru in India at Zirakpur in Punjab.
• As a part of the launch offer, Starbucks customers will get 15% off on their drive-thru order.
• The launch of the drive-thru comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has hit the dine in facilities of restaurants and people are opting for takeaways and home delivery.

Starbucks has opened the first drive-thru in India at Zirakpur in Punjab. The drive-thru will officially open doors tomorrow (July 10). The launch of the drive-thru comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has hit the dine in facilities of restaurants and people are opting for takeaways and home delivery.

“Tata Starbucks has had an incredible journey in India, and we are proud to have achieved yet another milestone. The opening of our first drive-thru store showcases our commitment to evolving our brand and business in India and providing new and meaningful experiences to our customers,” said Navin Gurnaney, CEO, Tata Starbucks.

In India, Starbucks has a joint venture with Tata Global Beverages.

The drive-thru is located in the Dhillon Plaza in Zirakpur, ( next to the Chandigarh-Ambala highway) which is owned by the Dhillon Group, where drive-thrus for brands like McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC already exist. The group has a revenue share model with Starbucks and had signed the partnership for a drive-thru way before the pandemic in late 2019.

Starbucks will be running the operations of the drive-thru. As a part of the launch offer, Starbucks customers can also enjoy 15% off on their drive-thru order. The drive-thru also offers the same menu as Starbucks stores across the country.

“This is the first drive-thru for Starbucks in the country. Given the current scenario, people want safety as a priority and a contactless takeaway model,” Karan Dhillon, principal of the Dhillon Group and owner/developer of the project, told Business Insider.

Dhillon is betting on the first-mover advantage for the Starbucks drive-thru and believes that the model will work well during the pandemic. “We already have feelers at the site, for the past week people have been knocking on the doors asking if we are open. There’s a lot of excitement and people have been asking about the opening,” he said.

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