The Fastest Way To Get Taco Bell: How A Two-Story, Four-Lane Drive-Thru Could Boost Yum! Brands

One of the most well-known fast-food brands in the U.S. could be getting a store facelift that will create some buzz and could increase speed and efficiency.

What Happened: Taco Bell, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc YUM, announced plans to open a new two-story location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in summer 2022.

The location will use Vertical Works Inc.'s licensed design and technology and feature four drive-thru lanes.

Taco Bell calls the new location the “frictionless future of Taco Bell.”

A customer scans a QR code and then pulls forward to pick up their food in a contactless manner using a lift system and two-way audio and video technology.

Four drive-thru lanes will accelerate consumers' shifts to digital ordering and food delivery. Three lanes will be designated for mobile orders and delivery drivers to pick up orders quicker than ever. One lane will be for traditional orders.

“The fastest way ever to get Taco Bell,” the company says of the new store design.

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Why It’s Important: As users shift to ordering items with their phone or through delivery partners, it has shifted the drive-thru game. Imagine placing an order on an app and then getting stuck in a drive-thru lane behind cars of people spending time looking at the menu or asking a bunch of questions and slowing down the lane.

Taco Bell looks to fix this with the new location and if the test goes well, we could expect to see more locations add drive-thru lanes or new stores in the future shift to the two-story, four-lane drive-thru model.

The company has invested in its Go Mobile framework to improve drive-thrus and digital experiences for its guests. Taco Bell has 13 Go Mobile restaurants built and 85 more in the pipeline.

Taco Bell has been a standout for Yum! Brands, which owns several restaurant brands including KFC and Pizza Hut.

Second-quarter sales were up 26% year-over-year for Yum! Brands. The Taco Bell brand reported a year-over-year sales increase of 24% and same-store sales growth of 21%.

Taco Bell opened 91 locations in the second quarter across 18 countries and ended the quarter with 7,567 locations.

Taco Bell’s second-quarter operating profit was $198 million, compared to $103 million for Pizza Hut and its 17,000-plus stores and $318 million for KFC, which has over 25,000 stores.

YUM Price Action: YUM! Brands' shares are trading down 0.0.15% at $134.96 Monday at publication.

Photo: Courtesy Taco Bell