Walk Up Windows for Eateries
When I was a kid, eateries with walk-up windows were much more common than they are today. Now, we have drive-throughs and sometimes they don't want people walking through their drive through, even though the drive through may be the only thing open.
So we are treating people without cars as second-class citizens, among other things.
With The Global Pandemic of Covid-19 never really ending and establishing "The New Normal", take-out has become more popular and dining out at restaurants less popular. People still want restaurant food but people are most likely to grab it and go rather than sit down and eat it there.
Little Caesar's is already a take-out business model. They were well-positioned to do well when the Pandemic hit AND they have a pizza portal where you can theoretically order online, walk in and punch in a code (or scan a QR code) and get your food without ever directly interacting with anyone.
I love it BUT:
A food portal for non-pizza businesses would likely need to be designed differently AND food containers that are safe for keeping in a warming oven would have to become a standard part of the business.
As a guess, oriental restaurants that already use square cardboard Asian-style food containers would have the easiest time making this transition and could be targetted as potential early adopters if anyone wanted to develop the technology and run with this as a business idea.
Footnote
So we are treating people without cars as second-class citizens, among other things.
With The Global Pandemic of Covid-19 never really ending and establishing "The New Normal", take-out has become more popular and dining out at restaurants less popular. People still want restaurant food but people are most likely to grab it and go rather than sit down and eat it there.
Little Caesar's is already a take-out business model. They were well-positioned to do well when the Pandemic hit AND they have a pizza portal where you can theoretically order online, walk in and punch in a code (or scan a QR code) and get your food without ever directly interacting with anyone.
I love it BUT:
- The online ordering doesn't allow you to leave notes, which means you will be interacting with staff if you need anything like condiments or napkins.
- You still have to go in the same entrance as everyone else, which means you may be exposed to myriad other people and their coughing and sniffling in spite of picking up your food "no contact."
- As far as I know, it's ONLY available at Little Caesar's and no other establishment has anything similar
A food portal for non-pizza businesses would likely need to be designed differently AND food containers that are safe for keeping in a warming oven would have to become a standard part of the business.
As a guess, oriental restaurants that already use square cardboard Asian-style food containers would have the easiest time making this transition and could be targetted as potential early adopters if anyone wanted to develop the technology and run with this as a business idea.
Footnote
Originally published elsewhere on March 2, 2023.
