East Islip Long Island Applebee’s Deploys New Pickup Lockers To Facilitate Speedy, Contactless Food Order Handoffs

Doherty Enterprises, an Applebee’s® franchisee, announced today that its Applebee’s restaurant in East Islip, Long Island now features an innovative new pickup locker system for delivery service providers (DSPs). The new pickup lockers enable quick, contactless, food order handoff to popular DSPs such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. The East Islip Long Island Applebee’s is the first casual dining restaurant in the United States to make use of these pickup lockers.

“The new pickup lockers mean drivers no longer spend precious time at the counter requesting their pickup order, instead, they are alerted when the order is ready,” said Kurt Pahlitzsch, VP of Operations, Doherty Enterprises. “This aligns with our company-wide commitment to get our delicious food to our guests hot and fast, so they can enjoy it wherever they choose to dine at our Applebee’s restaurants. We are excited to share this first with our East Islip neighbors.”

OrderHQ™ smart lockers make it easy for busy kitchens to offer quick, secure, and convenient order pickup experiences for DSPs. At this location, once the order is ready, the Applebee’s team member loads it into the back of the locker straight from the kitchen. When the delivery driver arrives, they go straight to the locker and enter their unique code to easily unlock their specific pickup order. The solution features indicator lights to guide DSPs to the correct compartment that contains their delivery. The entire pickup process lasts less than 10 seconds.

After testing and refining, Doherty Enterprises plans to roll out the new technology to additional Applebee’s restaurants in their portfolio. This is not an Applebee’s systemwide initiative.

About OrderHQ™

OrderHQ™ smart locker system provides customers and delivery service providers with a secure, quick, and easy way to pick up orders and be on their way. The system was developed by Apex Order Pickup Solutions, a leading global provider of contactless automated pickup solutions, and manufactured by Merco, a Welbilt brand. Welbilt, Inc. (NYSE:WBT) a leading global provider of commercial foodservice equipment.