Drones News

Granbury, Texas can now get wings and Chili's takeout delivered via drone

Here comes the wings.

Flytrex

A futuristic new delivery option for food and retail is making its debut in Texas: Flytrex, which specializes in ultrafast delivery for food and retail, is bringing food and grocery orders via drone to front and backyards.

The first market in Texas is Granbury. Flytrex has partnered with Brinker International, home of Chili’s Grill & Bar, Maggiano’s Little Italy, and two virtual brands: It’s Just Wings and Maggiano's Italian Classics. According toForbes, they'll also be doing deliveries for Walmart and Target.

The service is operating in cooperation with partner Causey Aviation Unmanned under a newly granted Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver that allows delivery within one nautical mile of the Flytrex hub. Eligible households can order food via the Flytrex app.

The company is focusing its service on the suburbs, where on-demand delivery has previously been viewed as commercially unviable, since traditional couriers can make only two deliveries per hour in such areas. They have a video showing a drone at work on YouTube.

Flytrex CEO and co-founder Yariv Bash says in a statement that the company is thrilled to be soaring into the Lone Star State.

"After establishing drone delivery as a preferred option in North Carolina, we are excited to bring our unrivaled speed and convenience to Texas, where big things happen," Bash says. "We look forward to bringing drone delivery to backyards across the U.S. as we expand our service nationwide."

Flytrex has been operating since September 2020, beginning in Fayetteville, then the town of Raeford, then in October 2021, a third drone delivery station in North Carolina at the Holly Springs Towne Center, delivering food orders from It’s Just Wings. Flytrex has already completed thousands of drone deliveries – more deliveries via drone than any other company in the U.S., they say.

They launched the world’s first fully autonomous urban drone delivery system in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2017, and have played an integral role in getting drone delivery off the ground.

technology

Fried Chicken News

Chicago restaurant debuts its fried chicken and boba tea in Frisco

Chi Tea

Chi Tea burgers and chicken sandwiches.

A new restaurant serving boba tea and fried chicken just opened in Frisco: Called Chi Tea, it's a chain from Chicago that opened its first location in Texas at 4760 Preston Rd. #228, in a former Bonchon Korean in Frisco Village.

According to a release, It opened November 1.

The concept was founded in Chicago in 2020 by brothers Zak Ayyubi, Aman Siddiqui, and friend Abdurahman Sharif, with an unusual goal to pair fried chicken sandwiches, fries, and bubble tea drinks. They've since opened two more locations in Illinois; Frisco is the fourth and the first outside the state.

The name is a little misleading, as it implies it's a beverage place, but there's equal emphasis on the sandwiches and fries. They also tout their welcoming vibe, encouraging customers to eat, drink, and linger.

Their menu features three sandwiches — Nashville hot fried chicken sandwich, a grilled chicken, and a burger with grilled onions, jalapenos, pickles, cheese, and Chi-sauce — which can also be ordered in a smaller slider size.

There are also fries, loaded fries, popcorn chicken, chicken tenders, and mac & cheese, which can be customized with bacon, beef, fries, and other toppings.

Prices typically range from $5 for a single Chi Tea Classic slider to $13 for four-piece chicken tenders.

Boba drinks are entirely customizable, starting with choice of blended smoothie or over ice, with choice of flavor ranging from pineapple to brown sugar milk tea to horchata; and toppings, like popping pearls or cream cheese foam. A regular starts at $5 and a large starts at $6.

Notably, Chi Tea was among the restaurants selected in the recent Spongebob Krabby Patty promotion during October that took place in 12 cities across North America, included a dozen restaurants in Dallas.

"We are very excited to finally bring a taste of Chicago to the Greater Dallas area," says Ayyubi in a release. "This move has been very promising and we cannot wait for the community to welcome us and for us to serve this beautiful city."

openings