Drive-thrus are the heart of soul of America, right? With nearly a quarter of a million fast food restaurants in the U.S. alone, most of these let you drive up to the window, order your food, and get it within minutes. However, with Minneapolis recently banning drive-thrus, could this signal the beginning of the end for our favorite way to grab food on the go?
Banned In Minneapolis
The Minneapolis City Council recently had a vote on new zoning laws that would ban the construction of any new drive-thru windows recently… And, unfortunately for those who like their food fast, members decided to give it the green light. This means that any new drive-thru restaurants who were planning to set up shop in Minneapolis can totally forget about it. But why? What’s the point in this new rule change?
The Reasoning
Well, according to members of the Minneapolis City Council, there were plenty of reasons for putting this new zoning law into place. They believe that the changes will help reduce emissions from waiting cars, reduce the noise, and also cut down on pedestrian accidents. While we don’t have any statistics for what drive-thru restaurants contribute to these three factors, the argument seemed persuasive enough for the city council.
The Beginning Of The End
The issue with a change in zoning laws like this, is that many cities often follow suit. If they see it has worked in Minneapolis, then it’s likely to be brought in for other cities across America. While it doesn’t put the current drive-thrus at risk, we could see less of them in the future.
Mind you, with delivery services like Uber Eats, many of us don’t even need to leave our houses to get food anymore…