Plastic barriers, contactless payments, and ultra-sanitized dining rooms — here are 13 ways fast-food restaurants could change forever due to the coronavirus pandemic

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Erin McDowellJun 9, 2020, 22:34 IST
Plastic barriers, contactless payments, and ultra-sanitized dining rooms — here are 13 ways fast-food restaurants could change forever due to the coronavirus pandemic

A McDonald's sign is pictured in Thornburg, Virginia, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

  • Going to your local fast-food joint may be a totally different experience as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Major fast-food chains like McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A have announced changes they'll be making to how they'll run their restaurants in the near future.
  • However, there are quite a few changes that could last long after the coronavirus pandemic has begun to wane.

Many fast-food restaurants have not made official announcements on when, or how, they will reopen their dining rooms.

However, possible strategies have begun to emerge, including sanitizing tables, frequent employee hand-washing, and asking customers to wear masks inside. Other changes will also be evident when you stop by your favorite fast-food restaurants, whether you're dining in or going through the drive-thru.

Here are 13 ways fast-food restaurants could change after the coronavirus pandemic.

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Employees will be required to wear gloves and masks after restaurants reopen.

Employees will be required to wear gloves and masks after restaurants reopen.
An employee at McDonald's hands a customer his credit card and receipt behind a special piece of glass for protection after taking his order. Michael Siluk/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Even after the peak of the coronavirus passes and restaurants begin to reopen, it's highly likely that fast-food restaurant employees will continue to wear masks and gloves.

Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald's USA, recently announced in a press statement that once its restaurants open for dine-in service, employees will be trained on the process of reopening dining rooms and will be given masks and gloves to wear during their shifts.

With experts predicting the likelihood of waves of coronavirus infections into the fall and potentially next year, it's likely that these protective procedures could continue well into the future.

Customers will also likely be told to wear masks inside restaurants.

Customers will also likely be told to wear masks inside restaurants.
A McDonald's customer wearing a face mask and carrying a bag of food. T Sarah Photography/Shutterstock

Masks are currently required to enter many businesses nationwide. In states where face masks are required, McDonald's has offered to have face masks available for customers in those areas before they enter the building, as part of the restaurant's reopening plan.

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Family-style meal deals could be here to stay.

Family-style meal deals could be here to stay.
Popeyes' famous chicken sandwich, which launched to much fanfare in 2019. Irene Jiang / Business Insider

According to a previous article by Business Insider, a memo received from an anonymous Wendy's employee reads: "Interestingly, Google searches for 'Family Meal Deals' [were] up 250% in the first week of April. The bottom line is, we need to make ordering large meals easier for our customers and our crew by introducing NEW Family Meal Deal options."

But the same Wendy's employee explained that while these meal deals are popular among customers during the pandemic, it's difficult for smaller staffs to fulfill the larger-than-usual orders.

"The physical ordering of the meal will certainly be easier," they told Business Insider. "But fulfilling the order with four people and not enough food prepared for that large of an order is going to be harder."

Ordering kiosks or contactless payment could become more prevalent.

Ordering kiosks or contactless payment could become more prevalent.
A man cleans the self-service ordering screen at the Shake Shack in Grand Central Terminal in New York City on March 16, 2020. Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Though one could argue that the constant touching of an ordering kiosk could heighten the spread of germs, this form of payment limits face-to-face, person-to-person contact. However, kiosks will need to be cleaned regularly.

One way fast-food restaurants could operate in the near and distant future is with "contactless" ordering.

In China, McDonald's has implemented contactless pickup and delivery where customers place an order remotely by phone or through an in-store kiosk. Then, customers can pick up their orders from a designated area, without ever coming face-to-face with an employee.

Taco Bell is also implementing similar processes.

"Our research shows that consumer behaviors changing today that make life easier and safer will be the behaviors that carry into the future, like delivery and mobile ordering, as well as contactless payment and service," Taco Bell CEO Mark King said in an emailed statement to Business Insider. "We've been working on some of these initiatives for a while, so we're really accelerating the future of digital innovation. Our operations and staffing may evolve to focus more on those things."

Chick-fil-A is also encouraging customers to use contactless payment methods. Guests will be asked to use mobile ordering, or if they need to a more traditional method, they will either swipe the card themselves or place cash and coins in a bin, rather than handing them to an employee.

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Self-serve soda dispensers could be phased out indefinitely.

Self-serve soda dispensers could be phased out indefinitely.
A person using a self-serve soda dispenser. Mario Tama/Getty Images

For the time being, and possibly beyond that, self-serve soda dispensers could be a thing of the past.

According to the New York Post, some 15,000 Burger King, Popeye's, and Tim Hortons locations across North America will be shifting their policies as they begin to reopen, and in many restaurants, this will include turning off their self-serve soda dispensers.

"We have turned off our self-serve soda fountains and are offering beverages, extra condiments, and trays from the behind the front counter," Jose Cil, chief executive at Restaurant Brands, which operates the three aforementioned chains, wrote in an open letter.

Cil also stated that the company has "fully embraced the notion that parts of our restaurants need to change – certainly, for the foreseeable future and possibly forever."

Social distancing measures like blocked-off booths and arrows may be in place long after restaurants reopen.

Social distancing measures like blocked-off booths and arrows may be in place long after restaurants reopen.
People stand in line for their order at a McDonald's restaurant in the Brooklyn borough of New York. AP Photo/Wong Maye-E

As fast-food restaurants prepare to reopen their dining rooms, they are getting creative with ways to encourage social distancing in their establishments.

In the McDonald's reopening plan, obtained by CNN, the document explains that when its dining rooms reopen, some tables will be blocked off to distance customers from each other. Stores will also use floor stickers to mark out "clearly recognizable paths" that will encourage customers to stay 6 feet away from each other while waiting in line.

Chick-fil-A and Starbucks have also taken similar measures when opening their dining areas.

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Dining rooms will be cleaned more frequently.

Dining rooms will be cleaned more frequently.
Wendy's dining room. Thiti Sukapan/Shutterstock

One thing you'll probably notice once fast-food restaurant dining rooms reopen is how clean they are. According to the McDonald's reopening plan, workers will be required to clean and sanitize tables after each use, and restrooms will be cleaned every 30 minutes.

At Chick-fil-A, workers will also be required to disinfect "high-touch areas," such as ordering tablets, credit card readers, trays, and door handles roughly every 30 minutes.

Some chains may offer hand-washing or sanitizing stations to employees.

Some chains may offer hand-washing or sanitizing stations to employees.
A Chick-fil-A employee using a hand-washing station. Chick-fil-A

Hand washing is still considered one of the main defenses against catching the coronavirus. Recently, Chick-fil-A introduced hand-washing stations for its employees to use in the drive-thru lines.

While no other chains have released information about implementing these, McDonald's said in its reopening plan that employees will be required to wash their hands every hour.

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Play places will likely remain closed in the immediate future.

Play places will likely remain closed in the immediate future.
Chick-fil-A play place. jmac23/Shutterstock

Both McDonald's and Chick-fil-A recently announced its playgrounds will remain closed even as restaurants begin to reopen.

Many fast-food restaurants without drive-thrus could close permanently.

Many fast-food restaurants without drive-thrus could close permanently.
In-N-Out burgers in a tray. Irene Jiang/Business Insider

According to the New York Times, drive-thrus have become a "lifeline" for fast-food chains during the pandemic. As the coronavirus pandemic forced many restaurants to shift to a strictly drive-thru or curbside pickup model, other stores without drive-thrus were forced to close.

In a statement, In-N-Out announced it would be closing all of its restaurants that did not have drive-thrus. The chain has not yet announced when these locations will reopen.

According to a previous article by Business Insider, some chain restaurants have permanently closed over 500 locations so far in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

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Plastic barriers are likely to be the norm at drive-thru windows and counters where orders are taken.

Plastic barriers are likely to be the norm at drive-thru windows and counters where orders are taken.
A customer getting food in a McDonald's drive-through. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Many fast-food restaurants, from McDonald's to Chick-fil-A to Dunkin', have implemented plastic or glass barriers at point-of-sale stations like drive-thru windows and ordering counters.

It's unclear when these barriers might be removed, or if they'll be a mainstay long after the pandemic has subsided.

Drive-thrus could be busier than ever ...

Drive-thrus could be busier than ever ...
Cars in a Chick-fil-A drive-thru. AP

Despite some chains beginning to reopen their dining rooms, for other chains, the drive-thru will still be the preferred method of serving customers.

Even in states where customers were technically allowed to dine in, chains like McDonald's and Burger King didn't rush to get customers through their doors. Instead, according to a previous article by Business Insider, these chains chose to emphasize their drive-thru business instead of immediately opening dining rooms to the public.

For some customers, going through the drive-thru may still be seen as the most convenient and safest option.

In March, drive-thrus generated $8.3 billion in sales across the fast-food industry, compared to $8 billion in sales over the same period in 2019, according to data from the NPD Group, a market research firm, and the New York Times.

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... although, some customers may still prefer to get their meals delivered.

... although, some customers may still prefer to get their meals delivered.
A person wears a protective face mask with a Shake Shack take-out bag on May 13, 2020, in New York City. Noam Galai/Getty Images

Even after dining rooms open, experts believe many customers will continue to rely on food delivery apps like Postmates, Grubhub, and Seamless for their fast-food orders.

"Certainly the best kiosk in the world is your mobile phone. It's a portable kiosk and you can use it wherever you want and nobody else touches it," Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs told Yahoo Finance. "I think the use of mobile phones for kiosk type ordering will probably become more prevalent, and perhaps using kiosks in stores will become a little bit less part of the business model."

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