Automated Vending Startup Brings Scheduled Pickup, Loyalty Programs to Kiosks
Editor’s Note: This article was updated Oct. 21 to correctly reflect MealMate’s storage capacity and the technology’s origin story. Can automated vending machines help restaurant brands reach customers in new places and outside typical hours? The...
Open Lockers Tackles Order Handoff at NYC Food Hall
New York City’s Shaver Hall recently launched two dozen smart lockers to manage the smooth handoff of delivery and pickup orders amid 11 eateries, three sit-down restaurants, two bars and several live entertainment spaces. Open Lockers, the firm behind Shaver Hall’s...
Grubhub Leans Into First-Party Ordering With Sauce Partnership
Grubhub, a top-three third-party food delivery platform by U.S. market share, is cozying up with first-party channels through a partnership with direct ordering, retention and commission-free delivery platform Sauce. The partnership adds Miami-based Sauce as a tech...
Walmart and Wing Add Seattle and Denver to 2027 Expansion Plans
Wing added Denver and Seattle to the list of metro areas set to receive autonomous aerial delivery in 2027 through a partnership with Walmart, building on what was already slated to be a year of scaling for the Alphabet-owned drone delivery company. Wing announced...
Off-Prem-Focused AI Agent Startup Raises $4M
Kutlerri.ai, a Houston-based artificial intelligence startup offering a lineup of off-premises-focused agents alongside other AI assistants tailored for restaurant management use cases, secured a $4 million funding round aimed at fueling expansion. The round will...
Outstanding Operators
Food On Demand Outstanding Operators features restaurant brands with innovative operations that are taking creative paths to success with delivery and all things off-premises.