Next time you eat a burger, burrito bowl, or pumpkin spice latte, you might want to check out a cube-shaped restaurant.
McDonald's, Burger King, and other chains have released designs and started updating their locations to what many of them have dubbed the restaurant of the future. Even for establishments that serve different products, most of these designs look the same.
We're seeing a lot of squares and rectangles, cube shapes, with a lot of glass and a very airy look to them. The restaurant designs have clean lines and are contemporary, according to Tom Cook, principal at KingCasey restaurant consulting agency.
The restaurants tend to be very minimalist, with wood tones and natural colors, while integrating technology, according to Mark Moeller.
redesign
There is a restaurant called "KFC."
Experts told Insider that these designs are mostly efficient. Restaurants are increasingly designed to accommodate mobile orders, meal delivery apps, and drive-through orders, as they become more important to companies' bottom lines. A simple, minimalist cube is the most flexible design, and can accommodate add-ons like drive-thrus or mobile pickup areas, according to a senior designer at FRCH Design Worldwide.
The ease of access is important with more ways to get food. The initial construction is a consideration in every part of the design. Fast food architecture used to have designs with corners and curves, requiring more skilled labor to build. The new minimal restaurants with straight lines are easier to build and have more revenue.
Papa John's will change its restaurants.
Papa John's is a restaurant.
There are different types of restaurants that look the same, and one of the reasons is that they're going after the same customers more than ever. Fast-food chains are competing against each other, but also fast-casual chains, and as a result, taking their overall branding more seriously.
Fast food used to be about creating cheap food fast, or aimed at children, but now these chains are dropping "kitschy" design and distinctive, "gimmicky" architectural features to create a broader appeal.
Chipotlane drive-thirteen design.
There is a restaurant called "Chipotle."
The categories of fast-food chains like McDonald's and fast-casual chains like Chipotle are almost meaningless. He said that both types of chains are trying to communicate that they are focused on food. Chains need to save money on design to spend more on food.
While fast-food and fast-casual sales are growing, impressive architecture or distinctive designs won't help a brand stand out in the crowded landscape. Multiple ways of accessing food will be important. The minimal cube design is an efficient way to get there.
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