Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
- Chick-fil-A is opening a pop-up break room in New York City for delivery drivers.
- They'll be able to grab a coffee, use the restroom, charge their phone, and use the WiFi.
- But the room is only open until mid-April and closes at 7:00 p.m. each day.
Chick-fil-A is opening a pop-up break room in New York City so that food delivery drivers can grab a coffee or use the restroom between orders.
Chick-fil-A said in a press release Wednesday that drivers will be able to use the room — aptly called The Brake Room — "to rest, get warm and recharge."
To get access, delivery drivers just need to show proof that they've completed any food delivery, not just a Chick-Fil-A delivery, within the past week for DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, Caviar, or Seamless. The room will provide drivers with access to restrooms, bike storage, outlets for charging their phones, Wi-Fi, and drinks.
By providing these services, Chick-fil-A is offering a solution to some of the biggest complaints delivery drivers have about their jobs. Until last January, drivers weren't guaranteed access to the restrooms of restaurants they collected orders from, meaning whether they could go to the bathroom or not depended on the individual restaurant's policy.
Delivery apps themselves don't provide bathrooms or shelters for their drivers, who they class as independent workers. Some delivery drivers even say they carry plastic bottles to pee in while working.
As they're paid per order, drivers tend to fit in as many deliveries as they can and struggle to carve out the time in between orders to return home for a drink or to charge their phones.
The lack of facilities for New York's estimated 65,000 food delivery drivers has been an ongoing discussion for some time.
In October 2022, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and US Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced a series of so-called "Street Deliveristas Hubs" that would use existing infrastructure, like vacant newsstands, to create spots where delivery workers can shelter from the weather and charge both their electric bikes and phones.
None of these sites are currently up-and-running, and the suggested spots have been met with resistance by some local communities.
The Brake Room, located on the site of a former gym, is open from Thursday until April 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., meaning drivers delivering late-night orders won't be able to access it. Like Chick-fil-A's restaurants, it won't be open on Sundays.