Burger King unveils QSR of tomorrow

Burger King is unveiling new restaurant designs focused on flexibility and convenience to fulfill changing consumer demand. Features include mobile order and curbside pickup areas, drive-in and walk-up order areas, an enhanced drive-thru experience, exterior dining spaces, and sustainable design elements. Created by the Restaurant Brands International in-house design group with input from tech, operations, and food innovation teams, the plans dramatically improve the customer experience. 

“The designs completely integrate restaurant functionality and technology. The restaurant of tomorrow merges the best functional technology with unique modern design to elevate our guest experience,” says Rapha Abreu, global head of design at Restaurant Brands International. “We designed the interior and exterior spaces like we had a blank sheet of paper, designing without preconceived notions of how a Burger King restaurant should look.”

Multiple ordering and delivery modes are highlighted in a footprint 60% smaller than the chain’s typical footprint. The reimagined restaurant blueprints emphasize:

• Drive-In. Guests will be able to park their cars in the drive-in area under solar-powered canopies, place their orders through the BK app by scanning a QR code at their parking spot, and have food quickly delivered to their cars.
• Curbside Delivery. Advance orders placed through the mobile app will have dedicated parking spots for curbside delivery. Guests will be able to notify the restaurant team member upon arrival via the app as instructed on the parking signs.
• Pickup Lockers. Guests also will have the option to pick up mobile and delivery orders from coded food lockers facing the restaurant exterior. The food will come straight from the kitchen to the pickup lockers.
• On-Premise Dining. One design option replaces the traditional indoor dining room with a shaded patio featuring outdoor seating for guests who prefer to dine on the premises.
• Drive-Thru. A double or triple drive-thru will feature digital menuboards and merchandising. The multilane ordering and pickup will expedite the process, while a living wall will frame the guest’s view into the kitchen interior. An external walkup window on the facade will also be an alternative ordering point for takeout.
• Suspended Kitchen and Dining Room. One innovative design option features a suspended kitchen and dining room above the drive-thru lanes configured to reduce the building footprint, making it ideal for urban areas. Drive-thru guests will have their order delivered from the suspended kitchen by a conveyor belt system, and each lane will have its own pickup spot. This design features a triple drive-thru with a dedicated lane for delivery drivers. Dine-in guests will be able to enjoy the dining room and covered outdoor seating above the drive-thru entrance. This design allows a 100% touchless experience.

“Our in-house design and tech team accelerated new restaurant design plans and pushed the limits of what a Burger King restaurant could be,” says Josh Kobza, Restaurant Brands International COO. “We took into consideration how consumer behaviors are changing and how our guests will want to interact with our restaurants. The result is a new design concept that is attractive to guests and will allow our franchisees to maximize their return.”

The first new designed restaurants will be built in 2021 in Miami, Latin America, and the Caribbean.