Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/999236
March/April 2018 49 in the QSR segment, has done design work and specifi ed equipment for salad brand Sweetgreen since the concept was founded in 2007. e pickup section for customers who have pre-ordered via mobile app "used to be three shelves, 4 feet long; now it's exponentially larger, 12 shelves, 8 feet long, six tiers," Lawson says. " e customer interaction is so much quicker; you've already paid, you walk in, grab your bag and you're gone." Kyle Kurdle, executive vice president of Gusto POS, cites Starbucks as an example of how fast the scene is changing. " ey've gone in a very short time—12 to 18 months—from where they had very few people ordering ahead, to a point where most people coming in for coff ee in the morning have already ordered on their phones," he says. " e store was designed when it opened for people to stand in line but this has changed the fl ow. Our customers, who are planning growth, are redesigning their restaurant footprints in anticipation of that growth in pre-orders." Other restaurant companies also are scrambling to get ahead of this rapid change. Taco Bell, which pioneered mobile ordering and payment, has embarked on an "All Access" initiative with franchisees to introduce mobile kiosks, improve back-of-house systems and expand delivery. Panera Bread, another digital pioneer with its "Panera 2.0" transformation initiative, has heavily invested in ordering kiosks and digital ordering as well as expansion of delivery, which it expects to add $250,000 in annual revenue at participating stores. Change is happening rapidly at full- service restaurants, too. "Keeping up with the consumer is key," says Jason Rusk, vice president of business innovation at Red Robin. "Consumers want to utilize technology to improve their dining experience at both the beginning, when initial orders are placed, and at the end, when settling their bills. Integrating technology into our restaurants puts guests in control of their experience while they dine in or carry out with us." Over the last year, he says, Red Robin has tested and implemented new services to strengthen the guest experience, including online ordering capabilities through redrobin.com as well as call centers to facilitate phone orders, integrated with unit-level kitchen display systems that allow restaurants to accurately track orders. And to respond to the growing popularity of off -premise dining, Red Robin is testing a delivery-only location in Chicago to develop insights in self-delivery, third- party delivery, catering and kitchen-only operations.