Wendy’s and Pilot Deploy 156 Kiosks in 78 Locations – EV Charging

Last Updated on September 6, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner

Pilot Adds 156 Self-Order Kiosks Across Wendy’s Locations

Pilot Company, North America’s largest travel center operator, is modernizing food ordering across its network by deploying self-order kiosks and adopting the digital platforms already used by its quick-service restaurant partners, as reported by Chain Store Age’s Dan Berthiaume.  Down towards the end of his story Dan brings up the EV charging.Almost as an afternote.

The EV charging detail isn’t a side note in this story — it’s the reason the kiosks matter. Charging creates a 20–30 minute captive dwell window that fuel pumps never did, and Pilot is the only travel center operator with both the food brands and the charging footprint at scale. The kiosk rollout is how you monetize that dwell time without adding labor.

Kiosk deployment

• 156 self-order kiosks installed across 78 Wendy’s locations in North America (two per site)

• Customers can customize items, add or remove ingredients, swap sides (baked potato for fries) and review orders before submitting

• No cash

• Pilot cites improved order accuracy and personalization as primary drivers. No numbers provided,

• Units are ADA-compliant.  The degree to which they are compliant is not specified. Generally accessibility has two regulatory constraints. One is ADA. The other is ABA.

Beyond the kiosk

Pilot has installed the preferred ordering platforms of Wendy’s, Arby’s and Subway at its travel centers, bringing mobile ordering, loyalty program participation and brand promotions to locations where available. Those same brand platform integrations extend to third-party delivery apps, so travelers and locals can order from participating travel center restaurants for delivery.

Gemma Patterson, Pilot’s senior director of restaurant relations and e-commerce, framed the move as delivering “the same convenient, technology-enabled experience travelers enjoy at their favorite restaurant brands,” citing speed of service and guest experience consistency.

Why it matters for the industry

This is a notable pattern for unattended commerce: rather than building a proprietary ordering stack, a large host operator is adopting each franchise brand’s native platform. That preserves loyalty, promotions and delivery integrations that would otherwise break inside a non-traditional venue — a recurring pain point for travel centers, airports, campuses and other host-site QSR footprints. The ADA compliance callout is also worth noting given continued scrutiny of self-service accessibility.

Excerpt

Third-party delivery

Wendy’s, Arby’s and Subway Pilot locations connected to the brands’ ordering platforms are also integrated with third-party delivery providers, enabling customers to order from participating restaurant locations at Pilot travel centers through their preferred delivery apps.

“As customer expectations continue to evolve, Pilot is committed to delivering the same convenient, technology-enabled experience travelers enjoy at their favorite restaurant brands,” said Gemma Patterson, senior director, restaurant elations and e-commerce, Pilot. “By bringing our quick-service restaurant partners’ preferred digital ordering platforms into our travel centers, we’re enhancing convenience, improving speed of service and creating a more consistent guest experience.”

Other technology-based amenities Pilot offers customers include a partnership with General Motors and EVgo Inc. to implement electric vehicle (EV) chargers at its stores. Pilot has surpassed 300 locations with 1,300 fast-charging stalls across 40 states and says the network, which first launched in 2022, is more than halfway toward a goal of installing up to 2,000 fast-charging stalls across up to 500 locations nationwide.

Company context

Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot is a wholly owned Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary operating more than 900 locations across 43 states and five Canadian provinces, serving roughly 1.2 million customers daily. Its EV charging partnership with General Motors and EVgo has passed 300 locations and 1,300 fast-charging stalls in 40 states, more than halfway to a goal of up to 2,000 stalls at up to 500 sites.

More thoughts

What stands out here is sequencing. Pilot built the charging network first (300+ sites, 1,300 stalls across 40 states, halfway to a 2,000-stall goal), and is now layering ordering technology on top of the longer dwell time that charging creates. The interesting choice is adopting each brand’s native platform rather than a proprietary Pilot stack — that preserves loyalty, promos and delivery integrations, which is exactly what usually breaks in non-traditional venues. Next question: do the kiosks and the charging app ever converge into one transaction?

Wendys Kiosk Pictures