Details are few, but multiple reports suggest the New York City Council is looking into fees charged to restaurants by Grubhub and other delivery providers. First reported by the New York Post, a hearing is scheduled by the city council’s Committee on Small Business on June 27
Bronx Councilman Mark Gjonaj was quoted as saying the council is “trying to figure out ways for small businesses, these mom-and-pop shops, to keep their doors open” in light of delivery-related expenses that have become a challenge for the restaurant industry at large.
The issue isn’t the standard per-order costs for delivery, but rather individual charges for customer inquiry phone calls to third-party phone lines that, according to the report, have cost some restaurants thousands of dollars in a single month. Gonaj added that the city “could potentially” limit what delivery providers are able to charge restaurant clients, noting, “certainly that’s within our rights.”
As we say in Minnesota, uff da—a term, like this proposal, that covers the gamut from surprise to relief to dismay.
