In yet another demonstration of the desire for better ordering options, Union has raised $22 million in a Series B round. The company, which bills itself as “the first hospitality engagement platform that leverages industrial-grade data intelligence to deliver transformative experiences for guests, operators, and brands at the most popular venues” processes more than $1 billion in transactions annually. The hook for the latest round was helping operators embrace the digital transformation. Essentially, it’s a cloud-based point of sale with a focus on reaching the “fewest taps” for operators and […]
Grocery delivery heavyweight Instacart will begin testing a rapid grocery delivery program as early as February 2022, entering a field that is currently dominated by small startups.
DoorDash announced another acceleration of its speedy convenience delivery platform. The company said it would start making 15-minute DashMart deliveries with a new fleet of DoorDash-employed couriers. Launching first in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, the program will feature more than 2,000 items from a new DashMart facility in the area. DoorDash President Christopher Payne said it’s the next step for ultra-convenience-minded consumers. “DoorDash is positioned to enter this emerging industry and provide consistent quality, speed and convenience that customers know and trust. Many New Yorkers already turn to DoorDash […]
The 2022 Future of Restaurants Survey Identifies trends in automation, labor, payments and more.
Ordering dinner at a brewery, hotel or venue from Reef ghost kitchen is not exactly hard. You head to a delivery platform, order your meal and wait for the driver. But the acquisition of 2ndKitchen promises to make it even easier. 2ndKitchen was founded three years ago with the singular purpose of enabling “hospitality businesses such as bars, hotels, or office buildings to serve food without the hassle of an onsite kitchen.” For co-founder and CEO Nick Anastasiades that meant getting very cozy with venues and local restaurants, forging partnerships […]
How far has the ghost kitchen industry come? So far that there’s now a company built to address the pain points of the ghost kitchen industry. Kristen Barnett founded Hungry House in New York City as a new take on ghost kitchens, one that was better for culinary innovators, higher quality for customers and more economical for the business with some notable tweaks to the format across the board. Barnett is among a handful of veterans in this ultra-convenience-focused food space exploring new models as the industry evolves. She brings […]
Five Guys, Jack in the Box and 7-Eleven delved into their off-premises strategies and the rationale behind them during a panel moderated by Franchise Times Editor Laura Michaels
Jokr has moved into Boston, its second U.S. market since launching in New York earlier this year.
BentoBox’s 2021 Restaurant Trend Report shows how the industry evolved over the last year through the lens of its 7,500 restaurant partners.
At the bleeding edge of robotic restaurant operations, Blendid is rethinking the smoothie bar. It’s out in the wild, ahead of the tests and prototypes across the robotic restaurant space, and there are some interesting learnings from the real world. Blendid is essentially a robot arm surrounded by a bunch of blenders and chutes of fruit, veggies and other mix-ins. The arm grabs a cup, collects the goodies and blends it all up, delivering pre-made or custom smoothies. As with many robotic-arm concepts, there’s a hearty dose of novelty. Co-founder […]
