The Wendy’s Co. unveiled its newest design standard, which is planned for a restaurant to open in spring 2023 in New Albany, Ohio, the company announced.
The Dublin, Ohio-based brand said the new global restaurant design standard, called Global Next Gen, includes features for digital-savvy customers.
Among the new features are:
- A dedicated pick-up window and parking for delivery-driver speed and convenience. They previously needed to enter the dining room to pick up orders. This design shifts traffic out of the drive-thru line, so crew can focus on taking and fulfilling other customers’ orders more quickly, efficiently and accurately, the company said.
- Mobile parking and shelving. Customers will be able to select a pick-up time when placing their mobile order and, upon arrival, park in a dedicated mobile order parking spot and grab the meal off the mobile order pick-up shelving.
- A galley kitchen that runs from front to back of house, increasing efficiency. The kitchen design allows for efficiencies at the point of sale, provides the ability for crew to slide between positions more easily throughout the day and supports faster order fulfillment, the company said.
- New technology that allows restaurant teams to handle increased digital business. The new restaurants also will use more efficient building elements such as lighting and heating-ventilation-air-conditioning to lower energy usage and costs.
“To accelerate our business and expand our footprint across the globe, we must consistently meet the needs of our customers however they chose to engage with Wendy’s, whether that’s through a digital platform or in the drive-thru,” said Todd Penegor, Wendy’s president and CEO, in a statement.
“Global Next Gen enhances the customer experience across ordering channels and streamlines operations for our crew, all while creating better returns for franchisees,” Penegor said.
The company noted that Wendy’s introduced the pick-up window in 1970.
Abigail Pringle, Wendy’s chief development officer and president of the international division, said in a blog post that the brand’s divisions all contributed to the new design as well as franchisees.
“Franchise leaders from the U.S., Canada and around the world have provided input on the concept, allowing us to refine the design along the way,” Pringle said.
She said the Next Gen design is also focused on lowering energy costs, reducing them by about 6%.
Wendy's, founded in 1969, has about 7,000 restaurants worldwide.
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