‘Zipotle’: Chipotle plans to use Zipline autonomous drones to drop your next burrito from the sky
August 23, 2025
Chipotle has teamed up with Zipline to pilot backyard burrito drops in the Dallas area—an early-access program the companies are cheekily calling “Zipotle.”
The first location offering the service is a Chipotle in Rowlett, northeast of Dallas, where a small group of Zipline users can order the full menu for aerial delivery via the Zipline app. The companies plan a broader rollout over the coming weeks.
Zipline delivers TexMex: satisfying cravings more sustainably
Orders are packed at the restaurant and placed into a “Zipping Point,” where a Zipline autonomous aircraft (a “Zip”) picks them up, flies to the customer’s address, hovers about 300 feet above ground, and lowers the order in a delivery container with a lanyard, placing it down gently without cracking a taco shell.
The two companies see drone food delivery as an ideal balance between customer needs for food on demand and supporting sustainability.
“Zipotle is a quick and convenient source of delivery that lets guests enjoy our real food from places that are traditionally challenging to serve, including backyards and public parks,” said Curt Garner, President, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Chipotle. Garner added that Zipline’s efficient and environmentally friendly delivery service aligns with the food chain’s own environmental goals.
Zipline says its aircraft are quiet and zero-emission, with initial payloads up to 5.5 lb and a roadmap to 8 lb, enough for a burrito-and-bowls family order.
The company touts more than 100 million commercial autonomous miles and over 1.6 million deliveries globally across its long-range and home-delivery systems.
“With Zipline, you tap a button, and minutes later food magically appears – hot, fresh, and ultra-fast,” said Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO and Co-Founder of Zipline. “Families in the Dallas area can have food delivered by Zipotle and served for lunch or dinner. What once felt like science fiction is soon going to become totally normal.”
Why launch Zipotle in Dallas—and why now?
Dallas-Fort Worth has emerged as a US testbed for aerial delivery, with other restaurant brands trialling drones nearby, including GoTo Foods with Wing and Papa Johns via DoorDash/Flytrex.
The FAA recently posted a draft environmental assessment covering proposed Zipline operations in the DFW metro area, supporting the company’s growth in North Texas.
Regulatory timing is also favourable. On August 7, the FAA published its long-awaited proposal to “normalise” beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations under a new Part 108 framework.
This change from ad-hoc waivers to a standardised permit/certificate system could allow larger fleets and suburban operations at scale. The proposal is open for public comment, with finalisation targeted in 2026.
Zipline has cleared FAA Part 135 air carrier certification
Zipline isn’t starting from zero. The company received an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate in 2022 (the same regulatory path used by UPS Flight Forward and Wing).
In September 2023, Zipline secured FAA authorisation to conduct BVLOS deliveries without visual observers—key prerequisites for economically viable drone delivery.
Those approvals support the Dallas pilot of Chipotle delivery and position Zipline to scale once Part 108 is finalised.
Drone food deliveries go bigger in Texas
Aerial delivery is heating up across food and retail: Wing, Zipline, Flytrex and others are building networks with restaurants and big-box partners, and Dallas/Fort Worth is becoming a showcase market.
If the FAA’s BVLOS rule lands largely as proposed, it would enable faster permitting, bigger service areas, and multi-store fleets—turning novelty drops into a mainstream delivery lane.
