Chick-fil-A opens first of its new 'grab and go' restaurants where there are NO cashiers or tables to eat at - diners must pre-order on the phone

Chick Fil-A's  totally new restaurant concept opened Thursday in New York City -almost entierly cutting out human contact when getting a burger and fries.

There are no cashiers - customers can only order sandwiches, fries and drinks using their mobile phone. 

The only staff are those cooking food and those handing it over as customers arrive.

And there are no seats and tables as there has always been in Chick-fil-A restaurants until now - instead it is aimed as a takeaway outlet and for delivery driver pick-up. 

The concept is set to roll out to other across America if its a hit. 

An artists creation of the walk-up store with no cashiers designed for locations with lots of foot traffic will open in New York City on Thursday

Chick-fil-A says the idea is customers 'gets their freshly prepared order into their hands quickly'

Chick-fil-A's new concept for busy inner-city areas only allows customers to order sandwiches, fries and drinks using their mobile phone. There is no seating

The idea is the customer 'gets their freshly prepared order into their hands quickly'.

With no parking, it will be a walk-up store for locations with lots of foot traffic. 

Chick-fil-A says the restaurant on 79th & 2nd will cater to busy New Yorkers by focusing solely on delivery and mobile app ordering that can be easily and quickly collected.

It is expected the concept will be rolled out to other locations in the Big Apple. It will also land in other cities around America too. 

How does Chick-fil-A's new mobile ordering only restaurant work?

• Guests order ahead for delivery or carryout via the Chick-fil-A App or online.

• The restaurant is alerted by geofencing when guests are on their way to speeed up the process and ensure each meal is timed with the guest's arrival.

• Inside the restaurant, there will be active status board screens designated for delivery or mobile pickup. So customers and delivery drivers can see when their orders are ready in real time.

• Once it is ready, guests and delivery drivers will receive their freshly prepared order so they can quickly be on their way.

• While the restaurant will not offer a seating area or dine-in services, Chick-fil-A's says its 'signature hospitality will be prominent in every step of this digital-focused experience'.

This new restaurant is one of two digital-focused test concepts the fast food chain is opening.

The second of which is the elevated drive-thru concept set to open later this year. See images below.

Chick-fil-A first unveiled the new drive-thru concept  - featuring a four-lane drive-thru, an overhead kitchen and chutes to deliver food to customers - last year.

The totally new design, that has lanes running through the  middle of the bulding, will debut in the company's home base of Atlanta, Georgia. 

A 'sophisticated food transport system' made up of an overhead conveyor belt with chutes down the sides will then deliver the chain's famous chicken sandwiches to employees stationed at the ground level, Chick-fil-A announced. 

'Digital orders make up more than half of total sales in some markets – and growing – so we know our customers have an appetite for convenience,' said Khalilah Cooper, executive director for restaurant design. 

It is no surprise Chick-fil-A is looking to boost its drive-thru offering.  The popularity of drive-thrus has soared 30 percent in the three years to 2022 as customers choose to eat in the comfort of their cars rather than risk coming face-to-face with cranky staff. 

Experts say the boom is thanks to the pandemic which saw people socialize less and increasingly avoid in-person interactions with strangers. 

It also no surprise that Chick-fil-A is looking to speed up how quickly it serves customers. It was ranked as the SLOWEST drive-thru restaurant with customers forced to wait up to SEVEN minutes.  Taco Bell was the speediest.

Customers of the chicken sandwich restaurant wait 436.09 seconds - around seven minutes - on average to receive their orders, according to a new study by QRS magazine. But it was ranked highest for good customer service.

Designed to cater to the fast food giant's growing digital business, the new drive-thru design will debut this year at a restaurant in the company's home base of Atlanta, Georgia

The elevated building means the kitchen will have twice as much capacity as traditional locations

Other Chick-fil-A concepts have hit problem.  An attempt to build a 'mega' restaurant with a playground and two drive-through lanes in a small Tennessee town was blocked by the local council.

The fast food chain wanted to construct a 6,110-square foot restaurant in the town of Collierville, roughly 30 minutes outside Memphis.

The new restaurant would have included a large outdoor seating space, playground, employee meeting room and dual drive-thru lanes with the capacity to handle 43 cars.

Sam's Club - the Walmart-owned rival to Costco - is using new camera technology that dramatically changes checkouts.

It will allow customers to scan and pay for groceries with an app on their phone and just walk straight out.

Meanwhile, Whole Foods is launching stores for shoppers in a rush - the new concept is a fraction of the size of its normal shops and you can pay with your palm using Amazon technology

And Costco announced plans to open a 'showroom' style store for big ticket items.