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First drive-thru only Del Taco opens in Albuquerque
The recently opened Del Taco drive-thru only store is located at 1500 Gibson SE in Albuquerque.
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The first drive-thru only Del Taco location opened in Albuquerque last month at 1500 Gibson SE, near University.
There are 14 Del Tacos in New Mexico, and this is the fourth Albuquerque location.
Opening as drive-thru only allowed the restaurant to open on a much smaller space than a traditional restaurant with a dining room could have operated from, said franchise owner Dennis Ekstrom. Ekstrom also has exclusive rights to develop Slim Chickens in New Mexico.
“It's on a beautiful little location over there, that I could never be there if I didn’t scale down to that drive-thru only,” Ekstrom said. “By being the first one in the brand, they had a loud applaud from the Del Taco leadership to build one, to build the first one. I was really happy with how it’s turned out and that gives me an opportunity to go on new sites where I wouldn’t be able to develop.”
Although it’s drive-thru only, the business is staffed with 50 people. Staff are able to better focus on executing the menu because they don’t have to worry about a dining room, Ekstrom said. The biggest business benefit is the added efficiency.
Unlike at a normal restaurant, staff do not have to focus on a dining room, restrooms, or people waiting to be served at the counter.
“I’m not sure I'd build that everywhere on a bigger piece of property, but now I'm going to be very tempted with how this is going,” Ekstrom said.
