Shake Shack is redesigning its restaurants as demand for drive-thru and digital ordering continue to boom during the coronavirus pandemic.
The fast-casual chain is opening its first ever drive-thru in Orlando, Florida, later this year, and plans to debut new delivery and collection methods, too.
These include digital-focused ways of pre-ordering and collecting orders through what it dubs the "Shack Track." This will include walk-up windows, drive-up windows, curbside pickup, and in-Shack pickup shelves through the app.
Over the next few months, it's launching app and web delivery nationwide, too.
Online sales are booming for the company. Digital sales made up more than half of Shake Shack's sales in the last three months of 2020, compared to just 23% in March. Fourth quarter sales via Shake Shack's app and website more than tripled year-over-year.
And despite the challenges of the pandemic, Shake Shack opened 20 new restaurants in 2020. It plans to open up to 90 new restaurants on "top-tier" real estate sites in urban and suburban locations over 2021 and 2022, and more than half of these will have curbside, walk-up, or drive-up facilities.
Shake Shake's news comes as fast-food and fast-casual brands across the country are optimizing drive-thrus. Drive-thru orders have grown across the fast-food industry since the pandemic closed many dining rooms. McDonald's, already a drive-thru heavy hitter with 25,000 worldwide, says that 70% of sales in top markets are drive-thru orders. Even salad chain Sweetgreen is jumping on the trend.
Here's what the Shake Shack drive-thrus will look like.