The future is upon us as Whataburger opens it’s first digital-only location in Austin, Texas. The location has no dining room, and cash will not be accepted as a form of payment.
Whataburger made the move to test the digital-only kitchen model with one location in the Texas market, and f all goes well, one can imagine this concept becoming the norm.
How does it work you ask?
Digital-Only Kitchen Concept
Without a dining room, customers can place orders online, from a kiosk, or through the app to reduce the time spent waiting in a drive-thru, on a long line.
Once a customers order is fulfilled, it can be picked up from an outside weather-proofed food locker or from the digital pick-up lane.
A rep for Whataburger said in a press release, “Making Whataburger quicker and more convenient for our guests means fully embracing the digital restaurant experience — but not forgetting who we are at our core: A hometown Whataburger,” said Whataburger President and CEO Ed Nelson.
Yum!! Brands recently announced during an earnings call, that their goal is to eventually take chains like KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut into digital-only territory, rejecting the cash as king philosophy.
The call for cashless fast food restaurants has been gaining steam as more chains lean into the app-experience where customers can place, and pay for their orders. Taking cash out of the equation would mean less employees to mann the register, and a safer environment lkeeping cash off-site.
McDonald’s, and Chick-fil-A have also been testing out features of a heavier digital experience with delivery, and orders placed through the app. Orders would be tracked via GPS, and once the customer is about three minutes away from the restaurant, the food would be prepared.
Whataburger’s new digital-only location in Austin, may be the start of a new era of convenience if customer’s are on board with it. Some people prefer a human touch after all.
President, Ed Nelson continued on why they chose Austin for their first digital-only location:
“Our Austin guests were early to embrace other digital innovations, making it a perfect fit for our first Whataburger Digital Kitchen.”
