Toast (NYSE: TOST), the digital technology platform built for hospitality, today announced the launch of Toast Drive-Thru, an enterprise-grade solution designed to help modern quick-service restaurants (QSR) increase throughput and order accuracy at scale while optimizing labor efficiency through a single, unified platform.
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There are just over 140,000 total drive-thru locations across the entire U.S. restaurant industry, according to 2026 data from Technomic Ignite. These operators must deliver fast, error-free guest service while facing increased pressure on labor efficiency. The growth of AI voice ordering solutions in drive-thru has left many brands struggling to integrate new technologies into old, fractured drive-thru systems burdened by a patchwork of disconnected vendors for point of sale (POS), menu boards, and audio systems.
Toast Drive-Thru replaces these fragmented systems with a future-ready platform across trusted hardware, POS-native software, AI voice ordering integrations, and end-to-end “white-glove” support designed to help drive-thru operators succeed.
Modern technology meets trusted drive-thru hardware
Toast Drive-Thru leverages the expertise of Delphi by Toast, and builds on Delphi’s decades of experience in developing trusted drive-thru hardware, allowing brands to run their entire drive-thru operation through one integrated, modern ecosystem.
“In the drive-thru lane, every second matters. As one of the important service models for QSR profitability, brands are constantly being pushed to balance speed and guest convenience with efficiency. At the same time, AI is giving brands new opportunities to impact this equation,” said Steve Fredette, President and Co-Founder of Toast. “By seamlessly integrating POS, KDS, outdoor digital menu boards, and AI voice ordering partnerships, Toast Drive-Thru gives operators the tools they need to keep pace with peak demand today, and the flexible foundation required to adopt new innovations in the future.”
Toast Drive-Thru: a unified ecosystem of software, hardware, and services
Integrated into one seamless experience, Toast Drive-Thru offers:
- POS-native software & AI Voice Ordering integrations: Designed specifically for high-volume lanes, an intuitive new POS drive-thru mode enables staff to enter key drive-thru order information like vehicle ID and lane tagging, and identify drive-thru orders for payment in fewer steps than standard quick-order mode. Customizable Advanced Order Confirmation Screen software shows guests their orders in the drive-thru lane as they are entered, helping catch order errors before they’re fired. Toast Drive-Thru also includes AI voice ordering integrations with partners like Incept AI to automate order taking, Speed of Service (SoS) reporting to help identify lane bottlenecks, and Drive-Thru KDS enhancements designed to optimize kitchen assembly and load balancing. Integrations with additional AI voice ordering partners will follow in 2026.
- Trusted hardware: Toast Drive-Thru hardware by Delphi is trusted by leading Enterprise QSR brands and has been deployed at thousands of drive-thru lanes globally, utilizing high-brightness 55’’ screens to deliver real-time menu content in various lighting and weather conditions. This is supported by a specialized HDBT Media Player capable of driving up to four independent screens.
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Turnkey services: Toast provides end-to-end “white-glove” support offerings, including:
- Drive-Thru Site-Survey & Design Consultation: Access expert site survey and configuration services through Toast for both new and existing drive-thru locations.
- Creative Content Services: Development of professionally designed digital menu boards and order confirmation screen content tailored to each brand’s visual identity.
- Drive-Thru Installation & Support: From initial site surveys to go-live, Toast provides a full range of location installation services and ongoing support to help keep drive-thrus operating at peak performance.
Customers say Toast Drive-Thru is foundational to maintaining speed and accuracy in high-volume lanes. For Gilberto Salinas, Manager of Information Systems at Palenque Group, whose Taco Palenque brand operates high-volume drive-thru locations across Texas, Toast Drive-Thru has transformed the way his team manages the lane, turning manual double-checks into streamlined operational clarity:
“Toast has always made it easy and intuitive for our staff to enter orders, and even more so now in our drive-thrus with POS Drive-Thru Mode. It gives our staff options to easily highlight the make, model, and color of the vehicle on each drive-thru order, which helps streamline the ordering process.
“Before implementing Toast’s Advanced Order Confirmation Screen, our staff had to repeat drive-thru orders back to guests before firing them, which took extra steps. Now guests can verify their orders right on the screen, helping to save time. The Order Confirmation Screen also helps to make sure the experience guests have in our drive-thrus matches Taco Palenque’s brand identity, which is a necessity for our drive-thru operations.”
Part of Toasts Enterprise Solutions’ offering for larger brands, Toast Drive-Thru will be available on a rolling basis, beginning with brands with 15 or more locations in the coming months. To learn more about Toast Drive-Thru, visit pos.toasttab.com/restaurant-pos/drive-thru.
About Toast
Toast [NYSE: TOST] is a cloud-based, all-in-one digital technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community. Toast provides a single platform of software as a service (SaaS) products and financial technology solutions that give restaurants everything they need to run their business across point of sale, operations, digital ordering and delivery, marketing and loyalty, and team management. By serving as the restaurant operating system across dine-in, takeout, and delivery channels, Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue, and deliver amazing guest experiences. For more information, visit www.toasttab.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the context of the statement and generally arise when Toast or its management is discussing its beliefs, estimates or expectations. Such statements generally include the words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “outlook,” “continues,” or similar expressions. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance, but represent the beliefs of Toast and its management at the time the statements were made regarding future events which are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Toast’s control. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding Toast’s business plans and strategy; the future readiness of Toast Drive-Thru, including the flexible foundation it provides to adopt new innovations and additional partner integration in the future; the timing and launch plan of Toast Drive-Thru; its anticipated benefits for guests, Toast’s customers, and Toast’s business and operations.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Toast’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”’ in Toast’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and Toast’s subsequent SEC filings. Toast can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements will be attained or achieved. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to Toast as of the date hereof, and Toast disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Toast’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
TOST-CORP
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