One of the best things about going out for both consumers and restaurants is a perfectly crafted cocktail. With all the syrups, bitters, juices and expert balance, they’re almost invariably better than one can make at home and carry a great profit margin for the business. Of course, since COVID hit, there are a lot fewer people buying those cocktails because they are either prevented through regulations, as in New York, or just unaccustomed to delivered cocktails. Amelie Kang saw that as an opportunity to do two things, help a […]
Uber announced it would be advertising at the biggest television event of the year, just like DoorDash, and pulling on some nostalgic heartstrings. The company announced it bought an ad spot in which Wayne’s World stars Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey embark on a mission to support local restaurants. The ad highlights Uber’s new, $20 million program to support independent restaurants over the next six months. The program includes $4.5 million in micro grants to restaurants in major metro areas, in-app donation options with Uber matching and other support initiatives […]
If you believe the hype, virtual restaurants are a savior for restaurants struggling to turn a profit or monetize excess kitchen capacity. For operators now buying into virtual concepts, 2021 is the year the industry will learn whether the promises of no hard costs and incremental revenue will pan out or fall flat.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wasn’t kidding when he said ride-sharing will be a comparatively smaller part of the company’s future. It’s bringing alcohol delivery into the fold with the announcement of an agreement to acquire Drizly for approximately $1.1 billion in stock and cash.
Bbot aims to be a key part of the restaurant technology ecosystem by providing a lot of tools to speed up development across the broader restaurant technology space. After a new $4 million seed round the company is working toward that goal with a total of $7.3 million in funding. Like a lot of this kind of technology, it’s hard for the non-tech entrepreneur to understand. Basically, cofounder and CEO Steve Simoni said it solves a lot of ubiquitous issues in restaurant technology by bundling a few tools together under […]
If you’re missing travel amid the pandemic and are especially hankering for that “vin de premium economy” experience, you are in luck. Move your chairs together, break out your noise-canceling headphones and get your plastic cup ready, American Airlines wine has landed in your living room. Under the brand Flagship Sellers, the airline is offering wines by the bottle, curated cases or via subscription for just $99.99 a month. For mileage hawks, the wine program will get you two miles for every dollar spent on Flagship wine. It’s almost like […]
Foodsby has reformatted its commission structure with an eye on fairness—both for its restaurant partners and its own bottom line. After dropping commissions to 3.5 percent during the early days of COVID, the workplace-focused meal provider is going public with its reinvention in hopes of attracting restaurants put off by the high fees of third-party delivery and catering marketplaces.
Slice, the third-party delivery marketplace exclusively for independent pizzerias, announced a new Pizzeria Score tool to allow consumers to rate the more than 14,000 pizza shops in its network. According to the New York-based company, early tests of the Pizzeria Score function showed that it can “help double or even triple orders” while fostering increased customer loyalty.
The advent of pandemic-inspired meal kits from top chefs and restaurants has created an entirely new category of at-home luxury that’s decidedly more upscale than typically delivered meals arriving in paper bags—and it’s a trend that’s likely to last past the current, pandemic-driven unpleasantness.
Kitchen United has signed its second lease agreement in Chicago, as the company continues to execute its ghost kitchen expansion plans. The fifth and newest Kitchen United MIX location will be at 222 N. Wells Street, a few blocks south of the landmark Merchandise Mart.
