Burger King Updating 12,000 Locations With ‘Futuristic’ Look

Touchscreen menus. Corrugated metal. Red chandeliers. Brick. Burger King will add these elements to 12,000 locations in renovations costing franchisees between $US300,000 and $US600,000 apiece.

The goal? “A contemporary, edgy, futuristic” look, according to CEO John Chidsey. One of an “upscale restaurant”.

You can see the new design in the lead shot (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan). It certainly looks more industrial, like a Chipotle. But there are more aggressive design elements, like the saucer ceiling, that you don’t really see in a stock chain restaurant. (And on another note, are a couple of touchscreens randomly dispersed through the tables really enough to encourage casual, table ordering?)

Apparently 60 locations have already gone over the “20/20″ makeover. Having witnessed their touchscreen menus in action, I’ll say that while the system is somewhat intuitive, it’s quite slow. Then again, maybe Burger King believes that if their restaurants are nicer, you might actually want to stay a while. [AP via ChipChick]