Pizza Hut is launching a digital pickup window at 1,500 restaurantsPizza Hut is launching a digital pickup window at 1,500 restaurants

Joanna Fantozzi

Pizza Hut announced Tuesday that the Yum Brands company has launched the Hut Lane: a dedicated digital pickup window at 1,500 locations around the country, with more on the way. The feature allows customers to place orders through the Pizza Hut website, app, or over the phone and drive up through the dedicated pickup lane to grab their order at the window.

The new technology is an add-on to other convenience and safety technology features Pizza Hut has added since the pandemic began, including curbside pickup, which was first introduced in April 2020.

"We are giving our customers a variety of options to optimize their pizza-eating experience as we build on our business momentum," Nicolas Burquier, chief customer and operations officer at Pizza Hut said. "Not only do we offer industry-leading, innovative menu items that are only available at Pizza Hut, but we also offer several digital-first pick-up options for our customers, and the Hut Lane is a great example of that."

When placing orders online, customers can simply select the Hut Lane option when they’re checking out, and if it’s not available, they will be able to pick up their order via contactless curbside pickup.

The new Hut Lane is part of Pizza Hut’s strategy to modernize through investment in digital convenience technologies. Flynn Restaurant Group — which recently completed purchase of 925 Pizza Hut stores from bankrupt NPC International — said that they will be focusing on implementing Hut Lanes at their locations:

Related:Flynn Restaurant Group finalizes acquisition of NPC International’s Pizza Hut locations and most of its Wendy’s restaurants

"As we transition into the Pizza Hut system, we are excited about the Hut Lane and the seamless customer experience it offers," Ron Bellamy, chief improvement officer of Flynn Restaurant Group said in a statement. "We know from our QSR experience how much value a pick-up window can unlock for the business, and we plan to prioritize the Hut Lane in future builds and relocations of existing stores."

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