Jimmy John's opened its first store with a drive-thru as the trend takes over the industry — here's what it looks like

Mary MeisenzahlFeb 3, 2022, 22:04 IST

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

Jimmy John's opened its first drive-thru restaurant in Florida.
The new restaurant has two drive-thru lanes and lockers for mobile order pickup.

Jimmy John's just unveiled its first-ever drive-thru in Barstow, Florida, which is now open.

Jimmy John's

The restaurant is optimized for digital orders, Jimmy John's says.

Jimmy John's

Like many modern drive-thru designs, the new concept will feature two lanes.

Jimmy John's

One lane will be dedicated to mobile pickup, while the other is a more traditional lane.

Jimmy John's

The lanes are located on either side of the restaurant, efficiently using the small space and decreasing wait times.

Jimmy John's

Customers will also have the option to pickup orders at carryout lockers for a contactless experience.

Jimmy John's

The new restaurant will still be "freaky fast," Jimmy John's said.

Jimmy John's

The design fits in with the trend of contemporary looking glass restaurants with clean lines, as described to Insider by Tom Cook, principal at King Casey restaurant consulting agency.

Jimmy John's

The design fits in with the trend of contemporary looking glass restaurants with clean lines, as described to Insider by Tom Cook, principal at King Casey restaurant consulting agency.

Drive-thrus have been key to the survival of many chains during the pandemic, and remain popular with customers across the industry.

Jimmy John's

Double lane drive-thrus, like the McDonald's one pictured here, have become the norm across fast food.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Drive-thrus typically make up around 70% of sales at fast-food chains, but as the pandemic closed dining rooms, chains like Wendy's and McDonald's reported drive-thrus making up nearly 90% of sales.

Drive-thru windows.Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Drive-thrus typically make up around 70% of sales at fast-food chains, but as the pandemic closed dining rooms, chains like Wendy's and McDonald's reported drive-thrus making up nearly 90% of sales.

Now that two lanes have become standard, some chains are taking more experimental approaches.

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

A Taco Bell franchisee plans to open a massive four-lane drive-thru in Minnesota this summer.

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

Jimmy John's is also on trend with the lane dedicated to mobile orders. Taco Bell launched its Go Mobile restaurants last year, with a lane for in-app orders.

Two drive-thru lanes.Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Nearly every major quick service chain is getting in on drive-thrus.

Shake Shack

Even Chipotle got into the game with Chipotlanes, which the company is growing at a quick pace thanks to their success.

Chipotlane.Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Drive-thrus seem to be key to surviving in the new fast food climate. Starbucks has embraced them further, closing lower-performing mall locations in favor of more suburban and rural drive-thrus.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Drive-thrus seem to be key to surviving in the new fast food climate. Starbucks has embraced them further, closing lower-performing mall locations in favor of more suburban and rural drive-thrus.

Though it's Jimmy John's first drive-thru, parent company Inspire Brands has plenty of experience. The company also owns Arby's, Dunkin', and Sonic.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

We shopped at Dollar Tree and Dollar General, the two largest dollar store chains in the US, and were shocked by how different the shopping experience is

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Jimmy John's opened its first store with a drive-thru as the trend takes over the industry &mdash; here's what it looks like

Jimmy John's just unveiled its first-ever drive-thru in Barstow, Florida, which is now open.

The restaurant is optimized for digital orders, Jimmy John's says.

Like many modern drive-thru designs, the new concept will feature two lanes.

One lane will be dedicated to mobile pickup, while the other is a more traditional lane.

The lanes are located on either side of the restaurant, efficiently using the small space and decreasing wait times.

Customers will also have the option to pickup orders at carryout lockers for a contactless experience.

The new restaurant will still be "freaky fast," Jimmy John's said.

The design fits in with the trend of contemporary looking glass restaurants with clean lines, as described to Insider by Tom Cook, principal at King Casey restaurant consulting agency.

Drive-thrus have been key to the survival of many chains during the pandemic, and remain popular with customers across the industry.

Double lane drive-thrus, like the McDonald's one pictured here, have become the norm across fast food.

Drive-thrus typically make up around 70% of sales at fast-food chains, but as the pandemic closed dining rooms, chains like Wendy's and McDonald's reported drive-thrus making up nearly 90% of sales.

Now that two lanes have become standard, some chains are taking more experimental approaches.

A Taco Bell franchisee plans to open a massive four-lane drive-thru in Minnesota this summer.

Jimmy John's is also on trend with the lane dedicated to mobile orders. Taco Bell launched its Go Mobile restaurants last year, with a lane for in-app orders.

Nearly every major quick service chain is getting in on drive-thrus.

Even Chipotle got into the game with Chipotlanes, which the company is growing at a quick pace thanks to their success.

Drive-thrus seem to be key to surviving in the new fast food climate. Starbucks has embraced them further, closing lower-performing mall locations in favor of more suburban and rural drive-thrus.

Though it's Jimmy John's first drive-thru, parent company Inspire Brands has plenty of experience. The company also owns Arby's, Dunkin', and Sonic.

Jimmy John's opened its first store with a drive-thru as the trend takes over the industry — here's what it looks like