Applebee's Latest Restaurant to Try Drive-Thru Service

2020 changed how we eat - and we still want our restaurant food, we just don't want to eat in the restaurant.

According to market researchers at The NPD Group, restaurant drive-thru visits increased by 26 percent during the second quarter of 2020.

Looks like drive-thru windows, curbside pickup, and other 'off-premises operations' will still be the way a lot of us will get our food, even as there is a light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. Chipotle and Starbucks are adding more drive-thrus and mobile pickup options. If you had to wait in line at the new Chipotle drive-thru in Auburn, you know it's a popular it is.

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And now apparently one Applebee's location is giving it a go, too. It's an Applebee's in Texarkana, Texas. They are going to see if their customers are ready to collect their Riblet Baskets and Bourbon Street Steaks through their car windows.

If it works, they will include it in their building design package!

So how would a drive-thru Applebee's work? You can either order by phone and pay at the window, or order online and on the app and pay through them. After you order, you get a time to come roll up and get your food.

IHop is owned by Applebee's and is also thinking about adding drive-thrus. One thing is for sure, this pandemic has forever changed the way we get our fix at our favorite restaurants....forever.