Taco Bell begins testing delivery service at 200 stores

Aamer Madhani | USA TODAY

Taco Bell doesn't want you to have to leave your couch next time you crave a chalupa.

The fast-food company says it will begin testing delivery service on Wednesday at 200 outlets in their Dallas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Calif., and San Francisco Bay area markets.

Customers near the test outlets will be able to order via the delivery service DoorDash.

After punching in your order on the Palo Alto, Calif.-based tech company's app or website, DoorDash will put in the order at your Taco Bell, pick it up and drive it to your home or office. The app will also notify Taco Bell customers when the DoorDash driver is nearing their home or office.

There's no minimum order, but a $3.99 flat fee is added. (You're also encouraged to tip your driver.) Taco Bell officials declined to detail how much DoorDash is being compensated as part of the deal.

During limited testing at stores in Dallas, Orange County, Palo Alto and San Jose, Calif., orders took roughly 38 minutes from when they were ordered to arriving at the customer's door, said Tressie Lieberman, vice president of innovation and on demand at Taco Bell.

"We've been talking about delivery for a while, because it's the No. 1 most requested thing" by customers, said Lieberman, who added that Taco Bell would promote its delivery test on Periscope, Snapchat and Twitter in the coming days.

The Taco Bell announcement comes on the heels of several other fast-food giants making forays into the delivery world.

Burger King began testing delivery service in several cities in the U.S. in 2012. In May of this year, McDonald's began testing delivery in New York City with the mobile app Postmates.

Starbucks also announced earlier this year that it would begin testing delivery service in the second half of 2015 with Postmates in Seattle and another service at New York's Empire State Building called Green Apron. Panera also recently began testing delivery service in Louisville, Ky.

Taco Bell, whose core audience is young and male, has thrived in mostly suburban markets. Roughly 70% of its sales are generated through the drive thru, company officials say.

Mary Chapman, senior director of product innovation at Technomic, said the move into delivery could be a smart move by Taco Bell as it tests the waters in more urban areas and looks to continue to serve Millennials.

Last month, the company announced it was opening a Taco Bell that would serve beer, wine and alcohol-spiked freezes in the heart of Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. A second boozy Bell is set to open in San Francisco.

"Fewer (Millennials) own cars," Chapman noted. "If you look at the long-term trend, particularly in urban markets, well maybe the drive thru isn't where to look for growth."