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Fleat Debuting Mobile Storefronts at FODC

By fodnews | February 26, 2019

Fleat Network, a Florida-based delivery logistics startup, announced it will debut its “intelligent mobile retail platform” at the upcoming Food On Demand Conference in Chicago April 1st and 2nd. The company’s StreetLogic software combines automated delivery management with so-called “database intelligence” that allows restaurants and retail operators to reach customers wherever they are, including their homes. “Third-party delivery services are stealing the soul from brick-and-mortar retailers,” said Patrick Fore, Fleat’s CEO and co-founder at a recent industry conference. “When retailers join their competitors on third-party delivery marketplaces like UberEats, Instacart […]

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Expert Argues Amazon Isn’t Killing Traditional Retail

By Tom Kaiser | February 26, 2019

For all the articles, news segments and business conference quips that Amazon is responsible for the difficulties seen in the U.S. retail market as once-iconic brands continue to fall, one retail real estate expert argues that the Seattle-based mega-giant’s impact is vastly overstated and almost universally misunderstood.

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Yelp’s Grubhub Partnership Yields Record Numbers

By fodnews | February 26, 2019

Fresh off the Valentine’s Day sugar high for the restaurant industry at large, Yelp announced strong growth in its restaurant services offering, including a record-setting V-day week where its reservation and waitlist software assisted 5.6 million diners.

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Operator Profile: Chicago’s urbanbelly

By Tom Kaiser | February 19, 2019

Elizabeth Tomlinson worked her way up at Potbelly as an assistant manager, GM, part of the corporate operations team and then district manager. Now she’s director of ops for urbanbelly, Chicago’s hip Asian fusion concept owned by the Cornerstone Restaurant Group.

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Amazon Takes to the Sidewalks with Robotic Test

By Nicholas Upton | February 19, 2019

Amazon is taking an earthbound detour with its new drones. The ecommerce giant that has a handful of wild patents for our aerial drone future has taken to the streets around Seattle with a new roving delivery bot. Dubbed Scout, a six-wheeled robot that looks like a cooler on wheels, began deliveries on January 23 in Washington’s Snohomish County. For the initial test, Amazon fielded six of the robots that will deliver packages during daytime hours. During the test, the robots will have a human Amazon counterpart to make sure […]

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Omnivore’s Well-Funded Delivery Insight

By Tom Kaiser | February 19, 2019

Last year when Coca-Cola led a $10 million investment into delivery software brand Omnivore it marked the biggest, flashiest big-food brand jumping into the delivery landscape to date. Months after the big news, California-based Omnivore is positioning itself as an agnostic asset to restaurant operators trying to decide whether to deliver and cater, how many brands to work with if they do, and how to connect it all in a way that doesn’t cause headaches in the back of the house.

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Burger & Lobster Launches First-Ever Full-Size Lobster Delivery

By fodnews | February 19, 2019

New York’s Burger & Lobster restaurant is launching what it calls the “first-ever hot, full-size” lobster delivery in the big city. Announcing the news on Valentine’s Day, the British-born restaurant brand is hoping fresh Atlantic lobsters become a tempting fixture at its two NYC locations. In its own words, promoting the new service, Burger & Lobster says the promotion is bringing New Yorkers “something they’ve not yet had the luxury of experiencing” from the comfort of their own homes. “The decadent dining hotspot has taken the best of its offering—fresh […]

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Reading the Postmates IPO Tea Leaves

By Tom Kaiser | February 15, 2019

With San Francisco-based Postmates filing to go public later this year, the cohort of publicly traded delivery providers is swelling to three, a boon for anyone tracking the behind-the-scenes financials of this still-growing, not-always-profitable segment of the restaurant industry.

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Firehouse CEO Predicts Coming Delivery ‘Shakeout’

By Tom Kaiser | February 13, 2019

As many chain restaurants face flat or declining traffic, Firehouse Subs bucked industry trends last year with gains in average unit volumes and overall traffic, which CEO Don Fox attributed exclusively to a thriving off-premises business. With a phalanx of headwinds blowing into the restaurant world, Fox predicted a coming shakeout between restaurant brands and their delivery partners because of financial arrangements he termed unsustainable. Firehouse Subs, the 116th largest U.S.-based franchise system by sales, grew its traffic 4 percent in 2018, which Fox said is a “5 percent spread” […]

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Solving the Crispy Fry Challenge

By Laura Michaels | February 13, 2019

Anchor’s line of Crisp Food Technologies containers feature raised air flow channels on the bottom to promote cross-flow ventilation and clear anti-fog vented dome lids.

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