Check out Wendy’s ‘next gen’ restaurant design

The Wendy’s Company is combining innovative design and digital technology in its new restaurant design.

The quick-restaurant company is launching a new global restaurant design standard, called “Global Next Gen, that it said will allow for an enhanced customer, crew and digital experiences. Beginning this fall, Wendy's new traditional restaurant builds will feature a sleek and modern design with an optimized layout and the latest in technology, with a goal of delivering “more Wendy's to more people with an emphasis on convenience, speed and accuracy.” (The first Global Next Gen restaurant will open in New Albany, Ohio, in spring 2023.)

The new design includes a dedicated delivery pick-up window and delivery parking to make it more convenient and quicker for delivery drivers, who previously needed to enter the dining room, to grab orders and go. This design also shifts traffic out of the drive-thru line where customers are waiting, so the crew can focus on taking and fulfilling orders more quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

Other features include mobile order parking and pick-up shelving in-restaurant. Customers can select a pick-up time when placing their mobile order and upon arrival, park in a dedicated mobile order parking spot and then grab their meal off the mobile order pick-up shelving.

A new galley-style kitchen design, which runs from the front to the back of the restaurant, increases efficiency and oversight for crew across all sales channels. The kitchen design allows for efficiencies at the point of sale, provides the ability for crew to slide between positions more easily throughout the day and supports faster order fulfillment and culinary innovation.

The new restaurants will also use more efficient building elements such as lighting and HVAC to decrease energy usage and costs.

“To accelerate our business and expand our footprint across the globe, we must consistently meet the needs of our customers however they chose to engage with Wendy's, whether that's through a digital platform or in the drive-thru" said Wendy's president and CEO Todd Penegor. "Global Next Gen enhances the customer experience across ordering channels and streamlines operations for our crew, all while creating better returns for franchisees."

Wendy's and its franchisees operate approximately 7,000 restaurants worldwide.