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The NRN 50: Grab and go

The NRN 50: Grab and go

America loves the car. More than just a mode of transportation, the automobile can accommodate just about anything. People conceive babies, give birth and die in them. They change their clothes, put on makeup, read the paper, play games, talk on the phone, watch movies, sleep and—most importantly for the restaurant industry—eat in them.

The automobile industry responded to Americans’ desire for dashboard dining in the 1980s by devising built-in cup holders. The foodservice industry has taken it much further. From the early drive-ins of the ’40s and ’50s, to the explosion of drive-thrus in the ’80s and reserved parking spots and carryout cashier windows of the ’90s, restaurants have responded to Americans’ penchant for eating on the go. Technological innovations, menu design and product packaging all have played a role in keeping mobile diners satisfied.

Eating in the car is one of the fastest-growing trends in industry, reports the NPD Group. The latest figures show 16 percent of meals are eaten in the car, up from 12 percent in 1988, says Harry Balzer, vice president of the Port Washington, N.Y.-based global market research firm.

The average American eats 33 meals in the car over the course of a year, Balzer says. That breaks down to about eight breakfasts, 10 lunches, four dinners and 11 snacks.

“It’s a consumer-driven trend,” he says. “We are always looking for the easiest way to feed ourselves, three, four, five, if not six times a day.”

We live in a car-oriented culture, says Scott McClain, president of Sonic Industries, the franchising subsidiary of Oklahoma City-based Sonic Corp. With about 3,300 units, Sonic is the only drive-in chain launched in the 1950s that emerged as a nationwide brand. Even Sonic’s television commercials show customers in their cars.

Carhops, some even on roller skates, still carry orders to cars parked in stalls. But the chain also has added drive-thru windows to serve customers on the go, McClain says.

“As Americans, we’re pressed for time, and one of the things people often do to save time is eat on the run,” he says. “Everybody is trying to make it easier through packaging.”

The restaurant industry has effectively tapped into the needs of time-starved consumers with product and technology innovation, says consultant Bob Sandelman of Sandelman & Associates in San Clemente, Calif.

The greatest innovation to improve dashboard dining has been the drive-thru, Sandelman says. Sales at the drive-thru window can account for at least half if not 60 percent of a quick-service restaurant’s sales.

“We’re seeing more and more products that tend to fit into that mood of being easier to travel with, to eat on the run, or just easier to eat,” Sandelman says.

McDonald’s Chicken Snack Wraps, Burger King’s Chicken Fries—chicken fingers shaped like French fries and packaged in a round fry cup that can fit in a car’s cup holder—and California Pizza Kitchen’s chicken Caesar salad in a wrap are just some of the latest products being offered.

With a majority of a unit’s sales generated at the drive-in, it’s important to focus on products that easily can be consumed while driving or riding in a car, says John Schaufelberger, senior vice president of global product development for Miami-based Burger King Holdings Inc., the parent company of 11,290 franchised or corporate BK restaurants.

“We want to make sure we provide them with food that is innovative, tastes great and fits their lifestyle and is easy to access during a busy day,” Schaufelberger says.

In addition to offering Chicken Fries, Burger King has focused on one-hand desserts such as its sundae shake. The ingredients are whipped together and served in a cup with a wide straw.

The process of making restaurants automobile-friendly has been a gradual one, though. The first McDonald’s drive-thrus, for example, were pretty rudimentary, says Bob Marshall, senior vice president of operations for McDonald’s Corp. in Oak Brook, Ill., which owns or franchises more than 30,000 restaurants worldwide.

The first drive-thru for the fast-food chain opened in 1975 in Sierra Visa, Ariz. The window was in response to a need for soldiers at a nearby military base who were restricted from leaving their cars in their fatigues. Sales were so strong at the window, a second drive-thru opened that same year in Oklahoma City. This time the franchisee put the speaker box in a fiber-glass image of Ronald McDonald.

“The first restaurant did maybe 30 percent of its sales at the window,” Marshall says. “Today, that has more than doubled.”

By the 1980s, McDonald’s and its franchisee community were retrofitting existing stores or building new ones with drive-thrus. Meanwhile, competitor Burger King was undergoing the same transformation.

Mike Vermillion was a teenager working in a Burger King in Bellflower, Calif., in the mid-’70s when it was decided to cut a hole in the wall and hang a speaker box outside the store.

Since then, electronic and wireless technology has greatly improved the drive-thru process, says Vermillion, who remained with Burger King and whose title now is “Friendly and Fast Platform Leader.”

“In 1975, we had the speaker box where only one person could speak at a time, like a CB radio,” he recalls. “Today, there is digital noise canceling. Most of the units are full-duplex, meaning you can talk and listen at the same time. It has improved service dramatically.”

In fact, progress has been made on many fronts. At McDonald’s, when an employee registers a drink order into the point-of-sales system, a signal is sent to the drink machine to begin filling cups.

“Finding ways to shave seconds [on filling orders] is central to our thruput,” Marshall says. “Our drive-thru grows faster than inside sales. People really like [to order at the drive-thru].”

In the quest to continuously upgrade their take-out procedures, operators have found some packaging works better than others. Good Times Restaurants Inc., the Golden, Colo.-based parent of the 54-unit regional chain, Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, is discontinuing its carrier box for food. Customers previously had the option of having their order put in a bag or an open rectangular box for easier consumption in the car.

“It was complicated and it was slowing down the order process,” says Good Times chief executive Boyd Hoback. “Employees would ask if they wanted a box or a bag, and customers would say ‘What?’”

Good Times still keeps its menu simple, mainly offering burgers, fries and custard. The addition of sliders, called Bambinos, went through a lot of testing before the company resolved how it could efficiently add the item to the menu lineup.

“The more you add, the more complex it becomes,” Hoback says. “We know there is a limit to how much we can do, so we have to evaluate every menu category and ask, what is the benefit?”

A successful menu addition can help pique consumer interest. Hoback credits the Bambinos with stimulating business at the drive-thru, while McDonald’s and Burger King both have touted new breakfast options as being sales drivers.

However, executives warn that all potential problems must be resolved before a new product can be rolled out at the drive-thru. Before McDonald’s introduced its premium coffees, it worked out a system in which employees could add sugar and cream.

“You used to see customers, after picking up their coffee, drive forward 30 feet, and put their brakes on while they fixed the coffee in their car,” Marshall says. “Now they don’t have to deal with it. They can just go.”

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