Florida Chick-fil-A now delivers food by drone, others could follow

Chick-fil-A is starting to deliver food by drone in the Tampa Bay area — so far only from one location within Hillsborough County.

A Brandon-Valrico Chick-fil-A restaurant announced Monday on Facebook that it now has drone delivery service to locations within a 1.2-mile radius.

The drone delivery fee is free for a limited time, according to the social media post. The restaurant partnered with DroneUp, a Virginia Beach-based company that has also launched service with a Tampa Walmart store nearly a year ago.

The restaurant said online that it anticipates expanding within 2 miles “soon.”

Chick-fil-A did not share what other Florida locations it’s planning on expanding drone delivery service to.

“We are in the early stages of testing drone delivery at a small number of Chick-fil-A restaurants,” Chick-fil-A spokesperson Chelsea Lee said in an email.

Drone delivery is one of a few ways that the fast-food chain is piloting new technologies for deliveries. Chick-fil-A also announced it would start using autonomous robot vehicles.

So how does it work?

Food is put into a box, attached to the drone that a pilot directs to the drop-off point and the order will be slowly lowered to the ground with a cable.

Customers within the small range from the 1504 E Brandon Blvd. location can order off the Chick-fil-A app to get drone delivery. It’s available from Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.