The lockdowns of the past year, which forced restaurants to close to diners, prompted many Britons to switch to home-delivery services such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats as well as drive-throughs and become increasingly accustomed to using apps to place their orders.
A drive-through is another “quick way of getting food where you don’t have to sit down and eat it with a knife and fork and a waiter hovering over you”, said restaurant industry consultant Peter Backman.
“There are a number of reasons why people eat out of home. One is to have a really great time and another is they can’t be bothered to cook. That used to be satisfied by supermarket ready meals – you shoved it in a microwave and job done. There is a space for meals that are easy to prepare and consume and are not too expensive.”