Papa John’s Tests Drone Delivery in North Carolina Suburb

Papa John’s International is testing U.S. drone deliveries in a small market in North Carolina, the pizza chain announced Monday.

The test is a partnership between the pizza company and Wing, a drone delivery company owned by Google parent company Alphabet.

The chain said deliveries would begin on Monday for customers near Sun Valley Commons, a shopping mall in a suburb near Charlotte, North Carolina. Customers must order through an app managed by Wing and drone deliveries are only available for a few select sandwiches.

The move is part of a larger effort by Papa John’s to modernize its technology. Executives last year told Reuters they felt the company had fallen behind its peers in some respects. In April, it announced a new AI-powered chatbot in its app that customers can use to place pizza orders.

In China, drone deliveries of food have become popular in many cities, but such deliveries are virtually non-existent in the U.S.

Chains like Chipotle and Dave’s Hot Chicken have in recent months announced small-scale tests similar to Papa John’s.

Industry experts say the technology is available in the U.S. but its use in food delivery is restricted by regulations such as those that require drone operators to maintain a line of sight with their drones.

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(Reporting by Waylon Cunningham; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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