Faster Food

“Pushed by pandemic restrictions and pulled by the increasing ease of mobile transactions, customers have rushed into drive-thrus, delivery, and mobile ordering.” Consequently, writes Henry Grabar in Slate, most American fast food chains are opening “digital kitchens” with no indoor seating or in-person transactions. Emma Beckett, an editor at Restaurant Dive, says in addition to innovative new designs for new stores, “the arms race is on to remodel older stores with drive-thru lanes.”

Some chains are shifting to ‘ghost kitchens:’ “unmapped, closed-door facilities where food for delivery might be prepared for a dozen different brands at once.” In general, Americans are buying more prepared food than ever, with restaurant spending surpassing grocery spending for the first time in the 2010s.

Breakfast spending at coffee chains like Starbucks is the fastest-growing segment of the shift to eating out. “Despite its roots as an urban gathering place whose comfy chairs, Wi-Fi, and bathrooms invite customers to linger, on-and-off closures related to COVID have helped accelerate a business shift toward mobile, delivery, and drive-thru, which now make up almost three quarters of the brand’s U.S. revenue.”

“It’s not just mobile apps that are making these changes attractive, but an older technology that also promised both freedom and a kind of anti-social isolation: the automobile.” And with remote work making it possible to eat at home rather than in the office or on the go, it’s possible that, when it comes to where Americans want to spend their time, “nothing beats the kitchen table.”