New Burger King restaurant innovations with conveyor belts, food lockers and solar panel canopies

Burger King unveiled its new "Restaurant of Tomorrow" design with innovations that offer flexibility and more options to meet the ever-changing dining demands in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The fast food chain worked with Restaurant Brands International's in-house design group to create the plans with dedicated mobile order and curbside pick-up areas, drive-in and walk-up order areas, enhanced drive-thru experience, exterior dining spaces and sustainable design elements.

“In March our in-house design and tech team accelerated new restaurant design plans and pushed the limits of what a Burger King restaurant could be,” Josh Kobza, Restaurant Brands international chief operating officer, said in a statement. "We took into consideration how consumer behaviors are changing and our guests will want to interact with our restaurants. The result is a new design concept that is attractive to guests and will allow our franchisees to maximize their return."

The plans were drafted with input from tech, operations and food innovation teams to dramatically improve the guest experience.

Here are some innovative highlights that customers can expect to see at updated Burger King storefronts that will first be built in Miami, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021.

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Drive-In with Solar-Powered Canopies
Guests will be able to park their cars in the drive-in area under solar-powered canopies, place their orders through the BK App by scanning a QR code at their parking spot and have food quickly delivered to their cars.

Curbside Delivery
Advance orders placed through the mobile app will have dedicated parking spots for curbside delivery. Guests will be able to notify the restaurant team member upon arrival via the app as instructed on the parking signs.

Pick Up Lockers
Both mobile and delivery orders can be picked up from coded food lockers that will face the exterior of the restaurant. The food will come straight from the kitchen to the pick-up lockers.

On-Premise Dining
One design option replaces the traditional indoor dining room with a shaded patio featuring outdoor seating for guests who prefer to dine on-premise.

Expanded Drive-Thru
A double or triple drive thru with multiple lanes features digital menu boards to expedite the updated in-car pick-up service. There will also be a walk-up window on the glass facade of the exterior for an alternative ordering point for takeout.

Suspended Kitchen and Dining Room with Conveyor Belts
One innovative design option features a suspended kitchen and dining room above the drive-thru lanes configured to reduce the building footprint, making it ideal for urban driving cities. Drive thru orders will be delivered from the suspended kitchen by a conveyor belt system and each lane has its own pick-up spot.

This restaurant design option features a triple drive thru with a dedicated lane for delivery drivers. Guests who want to dine in can enjoy the dining room and covered outdoor seating situated above the drive thru entrance. The design of this restaurant allows a 100% touchless experience.

"The restaurant of the tomorrow merges the best functional technology with unique modern design to elevate our Burger King guest experience,” Rapha Abreu, global head of design at Restaurant Brands International, said. “We designed the interior and exterior spaces like we had a blank sheet of paper, designing without preconceived notions of how a Burger King restaurant should look.”