Burger King to expand delivery test

By Tiffany Hsu

Jan. 16, 2012 12 AM PT

Craving a Whopper but tied to your desk? Burger King Corp. is starting to offer a delivery option in a limited East Coast test.

The fast food giant is sending its burgers to customers for a $2 fee from four Washington, D.C., restaurants. The chain told the Chicago Tribune that the test would roll out to a total of 16 stores by early next week.

A website for Burger King’s higher-end, booze-selling concept restaurant Whopper Bar in South Beach, Fla., also offers delivery, though the service is free with a $10 minimum order.

Customers within a 10-minute drive of the participating D.C.-area locations can opt for delivery via www.bkdelivers.com or by phone, as long as they spend at least $8 to $10, depending on which restaurant they choose.

The food that shows up on their doorstep will be packaged in thermal bags to keep it warm. For now, breakfast items and drinks aren’t on the delivery menu.

Burger King said it already delivers meals from restaurants in Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Columbia and Peru.
The Miami-based chain has been on a course of reinvention since 3G Capital took the reins in 2010, upgrading its French fries and spreading more Coca-Cola Freestyle beverage dispensers to stores.

Its position as the second-largest burger company behind McDonald’s is being threatened by Wendy’s, and fast-casual competitors such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Smashburger are siphoning away customers.

McDonald’s already has a small-scale delivery program in place in New York. In-N-Out caused a ruckus in October when one deal site, Midtown Row, began shipping the California-based burgers cross-country for $56 a pair.

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