MSN: Taco Bell Prepares To Go 'Drive-Thru and Delivery Only' Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Within the last few days, major QSR and fast casual franchisors have shifted focus to off-premise order in order to maintain public safety standards while staying in business during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Taco Bell is the latest to announce plans to operate only through drive-thru and delivery, posting a letter stating that the company has "an obligation to do something to help stop this from spreading."

"As regions of the U.S. begin to mandate public closures and self-quarantine, we are equipping our restaurants to serve our guests via drive-thru and delivery only where necessary," CEO Mark King wrote in the letter. "?Should we need to? temporarily close ?our dining rooms, we would be limiting millions of guest interactions?and further enabling?social distancing."

The three biggest restaurant chains, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, have already set the precedent, announcing that they would only allow customers to place orders to go.

In general, QSR and fast casual franchises were already shifting toward a digital, off-premise model by offering pickup shelves, mobile apps and delivery, but the outbreak has forced many to rapidly accelerate efforts. With 70% of QSR sales occurring at the drive-thru, this transition may not hurt fast food business as much as dine-in restaurant chains, which are facing local restrictions on dine-in guests and could be forced to close down completely.

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