🍔 Quick-Service Restaurants: The Next Big Wave in CRE 📈

🚀 How Drive-Thru Trends Are Shaping Commercial Real Estate 🏬

April 28, 2025•2 min read

🚀 How Drive-Thru Trends Are Shaping Commercial Real Estate 🏬

🍔 Quick-Service Restaurants: The Next Big Wave in CRE 📈

🚀 The Future of Drive-Thru and Quick-Service Restaurants in Commercial Real Estate 🚀

In the world of commercial real estate (CRE), few sectors have seen a bigger transformation than drive-thrus and quick-service restaurants (QSRs). As consumer behaviors continue to shift towards speed, convenience, and digital ordering, developers and investors are paying closer attention to how these trends impact property design, tenant mix, and valuation.

Changing Consumer Expectations
The pandemic accelerated an already growing demand for faster, contactless food experiences. Today’s drive-thrus are no longer simple lanes and windows—they are multi-lane, tech-integrated, and often the primary revenue driver for national brands. Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and McDonald's have all invested heavily into revamping their drive-thru layouts to serve more customers with greater efficiency.

New Development Models
Developers are responding by reimagining site designs. Single-use drive-thru pads, dual-drive-thru lanes, ghost kitchens with no indoor dining, and smaller footprints are now becoming more desirable to national tenants. These new formats allow tenants to optimize operational costs while maximizing output—critical factors for CRE investors targeting high-traffic, stable assets.

Location, Location, Logistics
Proximity to major highways, traffic counts, and ingress/egress design have always been important, but the bar is rising. Tenants now seek sites where drive-thru stacking can handle 10-15 cars without congestion. Properties near high-growth residential areas and in suburban markets are commanding premiums, making them a hot investment sector for forward-looking owners and developers.

Emerging Opportunities
With brands testing mobile-only lanes, app-exclusive drive-thru experiences, and pickup lockers, investors who understand and adapt to these changes will be well-positioned for outsized returns. As QSRs embrace more tech, expect property specifications and site entitlements to evolve accordingly.

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Bill Rapp, CRE Broker

I am a Houston commercial broker, with residential experience, as well as a lending background. I have been in the real estate industry for 14 years and counting, and I have worked in many roles within the industry and each has given me a unique perspective of the industry as a whole. My dedication to clients is rooted in this industry knowledge, but also includes my desire to go the extra mile in networking to source off market opportunities for my clients. Me and my team at eXp Commercial have a cutting-edge technology package that gets the widest exposure for each transaction. eXp Commercial offers a nationwide network through which we can deliver the best exposure and professional advice to achieve our clients’ goals while also minimizing their risk. Clients appreciate my methodical method of discovery in our initial consultation. Through which we can get to know each other and their specific’s business’s needs and objectives on a granular level. Our processes help navigate each transaction and its potential pitfalls through to a successful outcome for our clients. It is my stated goal to provide our clients with extensive market analysis and expertise that fosters innovative solutions and rewarding commercial real estate opportunities.

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