Burger King delivery service expands to Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles

Burger King is adding Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles to its expanding list of cities in which it offers food delivery service, according to a press release that was featured earlier today.

The press release invites customers from these cities to "discover why TASTE IS KINGSM from the comfort of their home or office."

This popular Miami-based company began offering delivery service in Washington D.C. last year and has since expanded service to Miami, Houston, and New York, according to the International Business Times.

"BK Delivers is already performing well in New York, Miami, Houston and greater Washington, D.C. As its popularity has grown, we have seen an increasing demand for the program in other markets," said Alex Macedo, President of North America, Burger King Worldwide, Inc.

There will be as many as 20 participating restaurants in Chicago and Los Angeles and 15 in the area near San Francisco Bay, the press release states.

These areas have been chosen because that have some of the most loyal guests, Macedo said.

It is possible to place an order online as well as on the phone and a minimum of $10 is required to order.

A representative for Burger King Worldwide Inc. said delivery tends to boost sales at restaurants where it's available but declined to provide any further details, according to the Associated Press.

The press release also says that they plan to expand to "more locations in the Chicago metropolitan area over the next several months" as well as locations in Southern California.

"The delivery push comes as competition intensifies in the fast-food industry, with McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's all fighting for customers with new menu offerings and stepped-up advertising," according to the Associated Press.  "They're also trying to fend off chains such as Chipotle and Panera, which are reshaping customer expectations about food and prices."

It is yet to be seen if Burger King's delivery sevice will prove popular enought to beat out the competition because the services remain fairly limited, according to the AP.

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As for me, I think that fast food delivery is a bad idea. Fast food is anything but healthy to begin with and then you take out the "physical exertion" required to leave your house, get in your car, drive to the resteraunt, drive home, get out of the car and go back in the house and what are you left with?  Make a call or go online, sit on your butt, walk a couple feet to the door and a couple feet back, then sit down again and consume this food that really isn't doing you any favors.  Ultimately, the difference is probably very small, but conceptually it still just seems like a bad idea to me.