Pilot completes Wendy’s kiosk rollout at 78 travel-center restaurants

Pilot Company has completed a Wendy’s ordering upgrade at 78 North American restaurants, installing 156 self-service kiosks and bringing the burger chain’s preferred digital platform into its travel centers.

The September 3 announcement describes a completed deployment, averaging two kiosks per restaurant. Guests can customize ingredients and review their selections before submitting an order, while traditional counter service remains available. Pilot says the kiosks comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pilot’s rollout announcement

The platform upgrade connects restaurants with brand mobile ordering, loyalty participation and promotions where available. Participating locations also take orders through selected third-party delivery services. Pilot says its comparable Arby’s upgrade is complete, while Subway’s remains underway.

For an operator housing several restaurant brands, that approach preserves each chain’s ordering relationship within the travel center. The deployment is documented; Pilot’s claims of faster service and improved accuracy come without measured results or an installation cost.

Wendy’s digital channels already carry a substantial sales share#

Wendy’s reported that digital sales represented approximately 20.8% of global systemwide sales in 2025, up from 17.6% in 2024. Its February 23 annual filing describes investment in the mobile app, loyalty, personalized marketing, digital menu boards, kiosks and artificial intelligence. These are brand-wide figures and priorities, not results from Pilot’s restaurants. Wendy’s 2025 Form 10-K, pages 24 and 36

That scale helps explain the value of connecting a nontraditional location to the brand’s existing channels. Guests who already use Wendy’s digital offers have an established way to order; the restaurant can participate without asking them to begin with a travel-center loyalty program.

The filing also identifies third-party delivery as an outside dependency. Wendy’s warns that provider failures, higher fees or greater platform priority for competitors can affect its delivery business. Installing the brand platform gives access to that channel, while leaving those commercial dependencies in place.

Pilot’s own app serves the rest of the stop#

Pilot introduced its separate mobile-ordering service in September 2025, covering meals, snacks, coffee, truck supplies and automotive items. More than 100 items were available, including chicken wings and pizza. Customers could order ahead, receive a pickup alert and earn or redeem rewards. Pilot’s September 23, 2025 announcement

The service launched in selected markets with a target of nearly 400 locations by year-end. Pilot also renamed myRewards Plus as the Pilot app. Its redesigned website combined ordering with shower and parking reservations, making food one part of a broader trip-planning service.

By March 2026, Pilot was promoting mobile ordering alongside a separate expansion of restaurant hours. It said more than 350 quick-serve restaurants across its portfolio, including Wendy’s, Dunkin and Taco Bell, were operating around the clock. Delivery was available where third-party drivers could provide it. Pilot’s March 5 update

The September deployment adds a verified Wendy’s installation count to that wider program. It does not establish that all 350-plus restaurants have kiosks, or that Pilot completed the earlier app expansion target. The practical change is access to familiar brand ordering at the 78 Wendy’s restaurants, with counter service retained.