Jimmy John's opened its first drive-thru-only store as the trend takes over the industry — here's what it looks like

• Jimmy John's opened its first drive-thru-only restaurant in Florida.

• The new restaurant has two drive-thru lanes as well as lockers for picking up mobile orders.

• Many chains have increased their drive-thru presence during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jimmy John's just unveiled its first drive-thru-only location, which is now open in Bartow, Florida.

Jimmy John's says the restaurant is optimized for digital orders.

Like many modern drive-thru designs, the new concept features two lanes.

One lane is dedicated to mobile pickup, while the other is a more traditional lane.

The lanes are located on each side of the restaurant, a design meant to maximize the small space and decrease wait times.

Customers also have a contactless option: picking up orders at lockers.

Using its longtime slogan, Jimmy John's says the new restaurant will still be "freaky fast."

The design fits in with the trend of contemporary-looking glass restaurants with clean lines, as described to Insider by Tom Cook, a principal at the King-Casey restaurant consulting agency.

Source: Insider

Drive-thrus have been key to the survival of many chains during the coronavirus pandemic and remain popular with customers.

Source: Insider

Double-lane drive-thrus, like the McDonald's one pictured here, have become the norm across fast food.

Drive-thrus typically make up about 70% of sales at fast-food chains, but as the pandemic closed dining rooms, chains like Wendy's and McDonald's reported drive-thrus making up nearly 90% of sales.

Source: Insider

Now that two lanes have become standard, some chains are taking more experimental approaches.

Source: Insider

A Taco Bell franchisee plans to open a massive four-lane drive-thru in Minnesota this summer.

Source: Insider

Jimmy John's is also on trend with the lane dedicated to mobile orders. Taco Bell launched its Go Mobile restaurants last year, with a lane for in-app orders.

Source: Insider

Nearly every major quick-service chain is getting in on drive-thrus.

Even Chipotle got into the game with Chipotlanes, which the company is growing at a quick pace thanks to their success.

Drive-thrus seem to be key to surviving in the new fast-food climate. Starbucks has embraced them further, closing lower-performing mall locations in favor of more suburban and rural drive-thrus.

Source: Insider

Though it's the first drive-thru-only location for Jimmy John's, its parent company, Inspire Brands, has plenty of experience. The company also owns Arby's, Dunkin', and Sonic.

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