Hey All,

Just saw this in QSR magazine and thought it was an interesting concept.  Some of the Subway stores are implementing a drive thru where the sub line can be showcased through the window so the customer can see the action.  

What a great idea for the coffee industry!  Showcase that beautiful espresso machine in the window and have the Barista's pulling shots in full view of the cars that are waiting. 




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By the way - Thanks for the add suggestion Paul!
Hey Mike,
Sounds really slick. If I had the ready cash I would jump on it with you. Pick the right local and bingo. I do prefer customers coming into my shop and sitting down but drive thru's are not going away so lets have fun with them. This is a nice way to drive them indoors to see the full meal deal and all the other offering inside. I could see using a nice new Slayer in full view. Well that might be a challenge with a barista in front of it but if you only used one barista they would have to pass on by to deliver the drink and thereby exposing your pride and joy for all to google at.
Joe
You know, I had a store once that had a lot of glass on the drive through side. His project was going to be installing a sliding glass door that would open right at car side. That allowed the customer to feel different than fast food.

Think of the presentation kitchens in some high end restaurants and apply it to the drive thru. I thought it sounded like a great concept!
I think the time is right in the specialty coffee / espresso world. Imagine morphing your thought here with the ability to see me or a roaster running a batch through a classic machine like my 1976 refurbished Probat 5L. If we worked it right it would be possible to duct out the bean roasting smoke in the drive through path. <];^)

Mike Spence said:
You know, I had a store once that had a lot of glass on the drive through side. His project was going to be installing a sliding glass door that would open right at car side. That allowed the customer to feel different than fast food.

Think of the presentation kitchens in some high end restaurants and apply it to the drive thru. I thought it sounded like a great concept!
In the current coffee specialty roasting / espresso / drink scene there is a lot to be said for the bling of it all. Don't get me wrong though. You have to have all the other critical pieces in place. ie , top of the line customer service, great product, supreme cleanliness etc.
Hey Mike,
BX is where the ideas get baked first. If it looks good, pencils out, location good, etc. why not?
I love brain storming. love it , love it. just love it.
Cheers,
Joseph
Yep - in some stores the downside to having a drive thru presentation window is "that there is a drive thru presentation window"!



Joseph Robertson said:
In the current coffee specialty roasting / espresso / drink scene there is a lot to be said for the bling of it all. Don't get me wrong though. You have to have all the other critical pieces in place. ie , top of the line customer service, great product, supreme cleanliness etc.
Our cafe is looking at a potential second location in a brand new building going up next year. If we take this location, we will NEED to put in a drive through. The necessity is based on the tiny community we are in. The machines we are putting into this location would be showcased beautifully with this sort of concept!
Another idea, capitalizing on some of the awesome theater that can exist in a coffee shop, is this. Place streaming web cams with autofocus where they can catch the espresso as it leaves the portafilter, and another positioned where the barista typically pours steamed milk, perhaps another directly over the pour over bar, all of this going to a screen mounted beside the drive thru. Of course, this would be mounted in a weatherproof and theftproof manner. I am sure there would be some wrinkles to iron out, but imagine being able to see a closeup of the pulled shot and the subsequent latte art while sitting in the drive thru!
Paul,
Now this is what I'm talking about. Baking idea's like this here on BX. Who will be the first on there block to offer this Value added feature to their business. I know you can see this kind of thing at the USBC and the WBC events but does anyone know of any shop already offering this feature. If so, please post it here. I would love to add this to our shop Paul. One of my former hats was tech support, computer style. I know how cheap most of this is to deploy. Ahhh, not taking into account the cost of the big screen.
Thanks for posting this thought Paul,
Joseph

Paul Yates said:
Another idea, capitalizing on some of the awesome theater that can exist in a coffee shop, is this. Place streaming web cams with autofocus where they can catch the espresso as it leaves the portafilter, and another positioned where the barista typically pours steamed milk, perhaps another directly over the pour over bar, all of this going to a screen mounted beside the drive thru. Of course, this would be mounted in a weatherproof and theftproof manner. I am sure there would be some wrinkles to iron out, but imagine being able to see a closeup of the pulled shot and the subsequent latte art while sitting in the drive thru!
Ooohh, even better, a camera down low, pointed towards the bottom of a naked portafilter....I can hear the moaning from the drivethru now!
If I'm not mis-remembering I saw a roaster at the NY/NJ Coffee Fest that did this -It might have been Counter Culture? I saw go for it and send us pictures :)

Paul Yates said:
Ooohh, even better, a camera down low, pointed towards the bottom of a naked portafilter....I can hear the moaning from the drivethru now!

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