Chipotle To Test Curbside Pickup At 29 Locations

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Thursday (Jan. 28) announced a pilot test of its new carside pickup program. Chipotle Carside will be tested at 29 of the chain’s California restaurants, with plans for a national rollout later in 2021. The feature will be available exclusively through the restaurant’s app, incentivizing COVID-conscious consumers who hope to take advantage of the safe pickup option to engage digitally with the restaurant chain.

To take advantage of the carside option, customers select “Carside Pickup” on the app’s checkout screen. From there, they will be instructed to park as close to the restaurant as possible when they arrive, and then to click the “I’m Here” button on the app. At that point, a Chipotle employee will come over with the order. Customers can also input information about their car’s make and color, to help employees recognize the vehicle more easily.

“As our digital business evolves, we are continuing to explore ways to remove friction and increase access to our real food,” Chief Technology Officer Curt Garner said in the news release. Other recent initiatives the restaurant chain has launched to increase off-premises dining options include creating its first digital-only kitchen for pickup and delivery; adding drive-thru “Chipotlanes,” digital order pickup lanes, to new locations; and enabling ordering over Facebook Messenger.

Chipotle has not announced any specifics yet about when the carside pickup option will be available to customers nationwide. Current off-premises options available nationwide include standard counter pickup and the Dollar Delivery promotion available through the restaurant’s site and app.

Speaking with PYMNTS recently, Chipotle Chief Restaurant Officer Scott Boatwright said the chain’s app and related digital experiences not only saved the day when on-premises dining was banned, but are also delivering an entirely new customer to the brand.

“I would say the majority [of] the folks that came in through digital during COVID were brand-new users to our brand,” Boatwright said. “We’ve recognized that … the digital consumer remains digital and the in-restaurant consumer remains in-restaurant. There’s a little overlap — but surprisingly, they’re two very different customers.”

The carside delivery initiative follows the lead of Domino’s Pizza, which debuted the carside delivery method in June. Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer, said in the announcement, “Domino’s Carside Delivery gives customers the option to stay in their vehicle while a team member delivers their order to them, making for a convenient, contactless carryout experience. It’s carryout, delivered.”

In our recent Restaurant Readiness Index, PYMNTS researchers examined how the paradigm has shifted to online and mobile ordering that allows customers to safely and conveniently pick up their food or have it delivered to eat at home. The study found that 89 percent of top performers allow their customers to order their food online, for example, while 91 percent provide curbside pickup options. Only 9.2 percent and 24 percent of bottom performers provide these features, respectively.