Chipotle Launches ‘Zipotle’ Drone Deliveries in Texas

In brief

Chipotle is launching a drone delivery service with Zipline
The test is taking place in Rowlett, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
Don’t look for flying burritos in more populated areas anytime soon.

Your triple steak, double rice, extra queso monster is now cleared for takeoff.

Well, at least in one Texas town: Chipotle just announced that it’s teaming with Zipline, an autonomous drone delivery company, to bring digital orders straight to customers’ homes in the Dallas area. The pilot program, “Zipotle,” kicks off this week with a small group of early access users before a wider rollout in the coming weeks.

Customers in Rowlett, Texas can order Chipotle through the Zipline app. Once the food is ready, employees load it into a “Zipping Point,” where one of Zipline’s electric aircraft, called Zips, snags the package. The drone then flies directly to the customer’s home, hovers about 300 feet overhead, and lowers the order with a tether, dropping it in the yard, driveway, or wherever.

The drones can carry up to 5.5 pounds per trip, with capacity increasing to 8 pounds over time. A triple steak, double rice, extra queso monster weighs in at two pounds, and tips the scales at the higher end of the fast-food chain’s burritos.

Why drones?

Chipotle says the goal is to cut delivery times while keeping food “dine-in fresh.” The company also emphasized Zipline’s zero-emissions aircraft and quiet operation.

“Zipotle is a quick and convenient source of delivery that lets guests enjoy our real food from places that are traditionally challenging to serve, including backyards and public parks,” Curt Garner, Chipotle’s president and chief strategy and technology officer, said.

Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton added: “You tap a button, and minutes later food magically appears—hot, fresh, and ultra-fast. What once felt like science fiction is soon going to become totally normal.”

Zipline isn’t new to high-stakes deliveries. The company first made its name flying blood and medical supplies to remote hospitals in Rwanda and now operates in four continents, completing over 1.6 million deliveries and logging 100 million commercial miles. Expanding into food and retail is its latest frontier, with partnerships aimed at redefining the “last mile” of logistics.

And crypto-loving Chipotle isn’t new to innovation. Its stock has soared 264% during the past decade, outperforming the restaurant industry in in sales and profits, per Yahoo Finance.

Not so fast

Don’t look for drone-based burrito delivery in New York City any time soon. The suburban landscape of Rowlett, with its wide yards and fewer obstacles, makes an ideal testing ground. But in dense urban areas where delivery demand is highest, drones face bigger challenges: tight airspace, tangle of power lines, and FAA restrictions on beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights.

There’s also the question of public tolerance. One or two drones dropping meals into backyards may be a novelty; hundreds buzzing over city blocks every evening could quickly feel intrusive. And from a customer’s perspective, tried-and-true scooter and car couriers are often simpler and cheaper.

But if the experiment succeeds in the suburbs, it could signal how aerial logistics slowly expand. And with any luck, you’ll also be able to get Tums via drone delivery, too.