Company bringing fully automated drive-thru stores to Baton Rouge

Michael Scheidt
·2 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A hardware and software tech startup with its headquarters in Baton Rouge is bringing its fully automated stores to the city.

Speed Bancroft, the president, CEO, founder and owner of Speedy Eats, said the “stores are customizable outdoor unmanned stores, which operators can use to grow their food service, convenience store or pharmacy business, with a low labor solution.”

He said the retail options can operate with “zero onsite labor,” using the software they developed.

The unmanned outdoor stores will be drive-thru. They will be open all day, every day, said Bancroft.

Customers will be able to get various food and drinks, which will be provided by operators.

He said people can use the drive-thru for takeout. Bancroft said orders can be made through their app, which can be found on the Apple App Store.

“The operator monitors their stores from our custom-built web app dashboard,” said Bancroft. They also “prepare fresh food and stock the machine as needed, daily or several times a week.”

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Customers can also request delivery as the inventory at the stores “can connect to third-party delivery platforms,” said Bancroft. They are “talking with Grubhub for our first software integration to allow our customers to order delivery.”

According to Bancroft, they will be able to get “local fresh prepared meals, salads, wraps, cold cut subs, cold-pressed juices, cold brew coffee, energy drinks, snacks and soft drinks.”

The owner said the “first operator is working with real estate agents in the Baton Rouge area to figure out the first location.”

Bancroft estimates that they will open their first unmanned outdoor drive-thru store in July.

According to Bancroft, “the first Speedy Eats store will be take-out only.”

The size of stores can vary, according to the owner. They could be 20, 30 or 40 feet long, said Bancroft. And “current software can support up to 20 operators.”

With that in mind, the owner said, “we will expand to six stores in Baton Rouge in the first 24 months.”

He said a software upgrade is in the works “to be able to facilitate age verification for alcohol and prescription meds, third-party delivery integration and third-party automated ground and air vehicles for robotic delivery.”

When the first operator-run store is opened, Bancroft said, they will hold a grand opening.

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