The increasing popularity of drive-thrus is generating some new trends. Rego Restaurant Group — parent company of fast-casual sandwich chain Quiznos and regional Mexican chain Taco Del Mar, among other brands — signed a development deal for manufacturing company BCubed to make fully outfitted, freestanding drive-thru restaurants averaging 650 square feet for Rego’s franchisees. BCubed restaurants include drive-thru and walk-up windows and are designed to fit on parcels too small for traditional restaurant development.

The deal allows the company to attract more franchisees with lower operating costs. The modular restaurants, dubbed The Qube for Quiznos and Baja Shack for Taco Del Mar – are manufactured off-site and shipped fully equipped, pre-wired, pre-plumbed and inspected to any site, reducing the development timeline.

3 Drive-Thru Restaurants Adding Units

• Checkers & Rally’s signed 32 franchise and multi-unit development agreements representing 53 new locations in the first half of 2022. The company has opened 11 locations this year and expects upward of 40 more by year’s end in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Checkers & Rally’s has more than 800 locations nationwide and growing.

• Southeastern-based drive-thru specialty franchise Ellianos Coffee is brewing up more units. Five new Atlanta area franchisees recently signed development deals with the brand for a total of 15 stores either open or in development. Ellianos has 24 stores and more than 80 in development.

• Wetzel’s Pretzels and beverage brand Thirst opened their first co-branded drive-thru location, in St. George, Utah. The relationship started with a co-branded food truck that drew outstanding sales. The drive-thru is only the second such unit in the portfolio of mall staple Wetzel’s Pretzels. “Wetzel’s has been beloved by mall-goers looking for high-quality snack offerings at grab-and-go speeds,” CEO Jennifer Schuler told QSR. “As we’re built for speed and simplicity, expanding the Wetzel’s concept to drive-thru is a natural brand extension.”