DoorDash announced today that it’s rolling out a new fast food delivery pilot in the US, in partnership with Alphabet’s Wing drone delivery company. That’s right, friends. If you’re lucky enough to live near the Wendy’s at 2355 N. Franklin Street in Christianburg, Virginia, you can have your square beef sandwiches delivered by drone. Now, that’s the one by Hobby Lobby, not the one at 2330 Roanoke Street, near the Cracker Barrel.
In an email to The Verge, DoorDash representative Mattie Magdovitz said the drone delivery area covers “most homes within about 2.5 miles” of the Christianburg Wendy’s (again, by Hobby Lobby, not Cracker Barrel). She said drone delivery requires a roughly two-meter-in-diameter clearing, like a driveway, that isn’t blocked by “trees, buildings, or any other protrusive object.” Deliveries should arrive between 10 to 30 minutes, carried by drones that travel at around 65mph.
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Most of the Wendy’s menu qualifies, Magdovitz said, but “certain combinations of items” might “exceed the volume and weight restrictions” to be eligible. However, she said DoorDash “will deploy up to three drones to deliver the order” if need be. If it’s too big for even that, the company will send a regular old human being. Drone dasher is only available from 10:30AM ET to 4:30AM ET, from Wednesday – Sunday, she added.
DoorDash and Wing have had a similar partnership in Australia since 2022, which DoorDash says has expanded to “over 60 participating merchants” in three Queensland locations. While this is Wing’s first pilot with DoorDash in the US, the company has bigger partnerships with others, including Walgreens and Walmart.
