Chipotle Mexican Grill is debuting its first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
The new prototype offers a "Chipotlane" and walk-up window for efficient digital order pickup. Chipotlane Digital Kitchens offer no inside guest access. The first restaurant is scheduled to open later this month and provides patio seating for guests to enjoy their meals outside.
"Chipotlanes are a key growth strategy for the brand," said Tabassum Zalotrawala, chief development officer at Chipotle, in a statement. "Our portfolio of approximately 300 Chipotlanes perform with the highest margins across the board, so we continue to evolve our restaurant design with formats like the Chipotlane Digital Kitchen to best suit our growing digital business.”
The Chipotlane Digital Kitchen footprint is smaller than a traditional Chipotlane, with no dining room access for customers or a front line. The kitchen is equipped with a make line dedicated to digital orders placed through the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com, as well as marketplace partners. Customers and delivery drivers can collect their digital orders through the Chipotlane drive-thru or walk-up window.
Since launching in early 2018, the Chipotlane format continues to enhance access, ease, and satisfaction for guests while demonstrating strong performance, according to Chipotle. New restaurants featuring a Chipotlane open with approximately 15 percent higher sales compared to non-Chipotlanes opened during the same period. To date, Chipotle has reconfigured 12 of its existing restaurants to feature the digital order pickup lane.
Related: Chipotle Tests Plant-Based 'Chorizo'; Deloitte Details the Restaurant of the Future.