Welcome to the drive-thru, AI will take your order

Daniel McCann, founder of 5Thru, became frustrated with waiting in growing drive-thru lines -- sometimes 15 cars deep -- to buy his morning coffee. As a payments expert, he knew that payments at the window take 23 to 25 seconds to process in addition to cook times, which adds up quickly if there is a line. Instead of waiting, he would often have to forgo the drive-thru and head to the office without his caffeine fix. He thought there had to be a better way. "Drive-thrus are one of those things that are still being done today as they were 50 years ago," McCann told Restaurant Dive.