Chipotle Is Introducing Drive-Thru Windows, But You Can't Order From Them

Soon, you may be able to roll through a Chipotle drive-thru. The Mexican-style chain is adding drive-thru windows to their restaurants for customers who have already placed orders online or through the chain's mobile app. CNBC reports that some stores in Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Massachusetts already offer this new feature, while another is expected to open in Virginia by the end of the year.

To clarify, you won't be able to pull up to Chipotle and place an order in the drive-thru, so don't try. The feature is exclusively for the pick up of orders placed online or via the Chipotle app. 

"One of the problems that companies have struggled with for a long time is having digital orders or any sort of out-of-store order come in and interrupt the flow on the main line that is servicing customers in person," Curt Garner, the chief digital and information officer at Chipotle, told the outlet. This drive-thru line will keep many of the chain's digital-order customers out of the way of those ordering in-store, instead funneling them through a separate queue. That means you'll probably get your delicious burrito bowl a lot faster without the foot traffic of people picking up.

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The Daily Meal has reached out to Chipotle for a comment on the new drive-thrus.

Pick-uponly lanes may be the way of the future. Dunkin' Donuts implimented its first-ever pick-up lane in Massachusetts this March, and Walmart has begun building more high-tech vending machines called "pickup towers," for customers who don't have time to browse. 

After a special investor call on June 27, Chipotle will release more information about how it expects digital ordering to grow. Better download the Chipotle app in preparation and forget about its past troubles — Chipotle is definitely one of the fast-casual chains to look out for in 2018.