Fast food is getting even faster: new high-tech chain adds app, drops lines
In the time it takes to order at the drive-through, you could be half-way through your meal. That's the idea behind The Melt, a new fast-food chain concept that's set to expand to 25 locations by the end of 2012.
If you've got a smartphone and a craving for grilled cheese, you could be doing more eating and less talking. The new chain boasts an app that lets you order in advance and pay by phone. It will also track your proximity to the checkout counter so your to-go items are good to go by the time you arrive.
The new concept comes from Jonathan Kaplan, the guy behind the now defunct Flip cam. He's combined his passion for hand-held instant gratification with his love of grilled cheese. The Melt's menu is simple: $7.95 for a deluxe grilled cheese and a soup. From the classic gooey cheddar on potato bread with a side of tomato soup to a spicy jack cheese on sourdough with a corn tortilla soup, the 5 combination menu choices eliminate over-thinking.
To make matters faster, Kaplan has commissioned Electrolux to created a unique toasting device that grills the perfect cheese sandwich in less than a minute. But the real quickie solution is in the smartphone technology.
Patrons can order their meal in advance on The Melt's website and download a code that allows them to skip the line and pay instantly by phone when they arrive for pick-up. A location-tracking app is in the works as well, designed to alert sandwich flippers to prep your order when you're close to arrival.
It sounds like the far off future but according to Kaplan the first five restaurants are set to launch in Northern California this year. By next year's time, he hopes to expand to other areas in the country and ultimately rival a chain like Chipotle in size.
Ultimately, The Melt would eliminate wasted time at the register, but it's unlikely to eliminate wasted calories. The average homemade grilled cheese sandwich has about 12 grams of fat and minimal nutritional value. Of all the problems fast food has created, lag time is the least of them. Before drive-throughs get faster, maybe they could get healthier. Is there an app for that?
