Delivery providers may be reporting a surge in orders as COVID-19 keeps diners at home, but the pandemic is expected to hurt more in the long term, according to a Wells Fargo financial analyst. In a research note from John Power, a senior analyst at Wells Fargo who covers the food delivery space, the pain point comes from an expected decline in independent restaurants. According to the Wells Fargo restaurants team, as high as 25 percent of independent restaurants “will shut down entirely because delivery sales will be insufficient to […]
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Sparked by a San Francisco decision to cap third-party delivery fees, several other U.S. cities are implementing or discussing their own cap-limitations in the name of helping restaurants. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the 15-percent fee cap is “part of a broader effort to support small business” in the city. Currently, the San Francisco order lasts until the end of May after being extended from mid April. The declaration is likely to be extended again in San Francisco and other major markets as cities reach a peak of COVID-19 […]
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Don’t call it a ghost kitchen and certainly don’t call it a virtual restaurant: The parent company of Ruby Tuesday has launched a new initiative called Franklin Junction that introduces a new delivery-focused model that it calls “host kitchens.” At its core, the plan is relatively simple. It allows outside restaurant brands to use the excess kitchen capacity at existing casual restaurants across the country strictly for delivery and as a low-cost option for brands looking to enter new markets. If all goes according to designs laid out by Ruby […]
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NYC-based Delivery.com is national in scale through a franchise model, but smaller than rivals like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Postmates. From its vantage point, it is seeing a tale of two cities as the pandemic hammers both car-based suburban markets, which are somewhat insulated, and large cities like New York City, where some merchants wonder if urban life can ever return to the way it once was. With operations in 1,800 cities across 41 states, and 18,000 merchants on its platform, all of Delivery.com’s markets are impacted, but the largest […]
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New data shows that COVID-19 is potentially “even-ing the playing field” for third-party delivery. That’s according to Sense360, the data and analytics firm that measures foot traffic, proprietary survey data and gleans insights from the payment data of 5 million consumers. In a recent look at sales through the end of March, the company saw some interesting patterns as foodservice broadly finds a new normal. In total, people covered in the panel of customers are spending 18 percent more on delivery than they were last year. Prior to COVID-19, users […]
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Uber has added a pair of new services, Uber Direct and Uber Connect, that leverage the largest network of gig drivers in the world who suddenly have a lot less driving to do. As the COVID-19 pandemic encroached into the U.S., Uber ridership tanked. In the dense urban areas hit hardest by the virus, rides were down as much as 70 percent. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on an investor call March 19 that the company would be fine even if ridership sank by 80 percent. “We are well-positioned to weather […]
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During a historic slowdown in the global catering market, Boston-based ezCater announced its Feed the Front Line program has resulted in more than 20,000 meals sent to 145 hospitals across the U.S., including hundreds from pop singer Lizzo. “Healthcare workers are risking their health to protect ours, and restaurants are fighting to stay in business,” ezCater said in a press release on the program. “Feed the Front Line connects people who want to support healthcare workers with local restaurants who need orders, through contributions of any size.” Through the program, […]
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Dog Haus, the 50-unit West Coast franchise known for gourmet hot dogs, burgers and fried chicken sandwiches, moved up a major virtual restaurant rollout to help keep sales flowing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The California-based company announced the launch of Absolute Brands, its new restaurant group that will soon house eight virtual brands, built with star menu items found in Dog Haus as well as unique items that were featured in the brick-and-mortar locations as limited time offers (LTOs). All eight concepts were initially set to roll out next year, […]
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For a company promising to bring order to chaotic kitchens, Galley Solutions is having a moment as its cloud-based inventory, ingredient and supply chain tools help foodservice brands work through this unplanned midlife crisis. Whether it’s a single restaurant, corporate caterer, ghost kitchen or franchised chain, helping such businesses track food costs down to a micro level is the raw data many brands need to reevaluate their businesses and viable in a strange new world. Focused on sexy topics like optimized purchasing, data integration and cloud-based food costing, Galley’s business […]
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San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a temporary 15-percent limit on the fees third-party food delivery providers can charge restaurants here during the pandemic. San Francisco happens to be the home base of three of the four largest national delivery brands: DoorDash, Uber Eats and Postmates. The cap will be in effect through the remainder of the local emergency, or until businesses are permitted to reopen for dine-in service, whichever comes first. It’s part of the city’s broader efforts to support its businesses during the pandemic—including tax and licensing deferrals, […]
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