Chipotle is testing two technologies specifically to streamline operations and reduce friction–a kitchen management system and an advanced location-based platform. The company is also currently testing Radius Networks’ Flybuy, a “contextual restaurant program,” at 73 Cleveland-area restaurants designed to identify Chipotle app users’ intent upon arrival. The location-based technology utilizes real-time data to let customers know their orders are ready, to remind them to scan the Chipotle Rewards QR code at checkout and more. It even alerts customers if they’re in the wrong pick-up location. The program has yielded positive results so far, according to Chipotle, including improved in-store rewards engagement and delivery efficiencies.

Toast and Flybuy launch their full integration to provide restaurants of any size with a location-based in-store, curbside, and drive-thru pickup solution. The new integration will give restaurant brands on the cloud-based Toast system an accurate ETA to predict the arrival time of incoming off-premises customers. According to Flybuy, this will enable restaurant staff to perfectly time the order preparation and handoff.

Toast Online Ordering and Flybuy Pickup are fully integrated, allowing Toast Online Ordering customers to opt-in to a seamless, location-based customer and delivery driver pickup solution in just days. Flybuy Pickup offers brands a robust, turn-key pickup solution, across in-store, curbside and drive-thru service channels, dramatically reducing customer and delivery driver wait times and improving staff efficiencies for prioritization, prep and hand-off of Toast online orders.

Takeout tech is taking off and the Restaurant Technology Network hosted a panel discussions with Flybuy, El Pollo Loco, Mendocino Farms, and many more to share what's hot and what's not and where the industry is headed.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill has launched Flybuy Pickup to power its takeout and delivery business in each of its 55 locations in 20 states. Flybuy Pickup is a product within the Radius Networks Flybuy Platform that is leveraged by Fortune 500 businesses worldwide for in-store, curbside, and drive-thru pickup optimization. Firebirds continues to have a booming off-premise business, with an abundance of takeout and delivery traffic in its lobby during peak hours. The restaurant chose Flybuy to create a curbside solution that improves guests’ off-premise experience and streamlines delivery operations.

Flybuy and Future Ordering teamed up to create a frictionless pickup experience for Max Burgers, driving repeat visits and increased order volume. New technology implemented by Max Burgers is reducing friction in the guests' curbside pickup experience. The 180+ burger chain across Europe that originated in Sweden, rolled out Flybuy, an enterprise location technology platform, and Future Ordering’s digital ordering platform for food and beverage.

Flybuy, a location technology that predicts customer arrival times, has partnered with Apex Ordering Pickup Solutions to create delivery and takeout lockers with real-time data to help restaurants and retailers maximize food freshness and locker capacity.

Radius Networks, a provider of enterprise location technology, has teamed with Apex Order Pickup Solutions, a provider of self-serve automated pickup solutions for use in foodservice, retail and b-to-b ecommerce, to provide restaurants and retailers with a frictionless locker pickup experience, according to a press release. The integration provides businesses with visibility into the customer or delivery driver's journey as they drive to the store, enabling them to time order prep and loading to the locker to minimize order dwell and customer/driver wait times. Radius Networks' Flybuy Pickup location technology can provide automatic locker opening upon arrival, provide a code as soon as the customer enters the premise and monitor food freshness based on when the item entered and exited the locker.

Radius Networks and Apex Order Pickup Solutions team up to provide restaurants and retailers with a frictionless locker pickup experience. The integration provides businesses with visibility into the entire customer or delivery driver’s journey as they drive to the store, enabling them to perfectly time order prep and loading to the locker to minimize order dwell and customer/driver wait times.

Cafe Rio goes digital! Cafe Rio Mexican Grill first launched its new store-of-the-future concept in 2021. Dubbed the Digital Café, it puts technology at the center of the consumer experience while reducing labor and hard costs. Featuring traditional drive-thru, curbside ordering with technology partner Flybuy, digital kiosk ordering, and mobile app ordering, this new concept puts power in the hands of the consumer to select their preferred ordering channel.

IHOP is launching virtual brands, which will roughly be in 1,000 locations within the next few months. Dine-in accounted for 75.4 percent of sales, while off-premises mixed 24.6 percent. Of the latter number, 15.3 percent was delivery and 9.3 percent was takeout. Off-premises average weekly sales per restaurant was roughly $8,900, still more than double pre-pandemic levels. The business was recently boosted by the implementation of Flybuy, a company that allows curbside customers to notify restaurants when they're in the parking lot.

Chipotle and DINE Brands speak about new technology and innovations at the Food on Demand conference. DINE is among the restaurants that have embraced virtual brands and increasing demand for off-premises dining options. The parent company of IHOP and Applebee's recently added Radius Network's Flybuy Pickup to help improve carside and in-restaurant pickup and delivery. Other tech additions include SYNQ3 for the call center; both solutions tackle clear pain points for the brand. Referring to Flybuy Pickup, Gladstone said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure; now we can.”