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Subway Inks Partnerships with Four Big Delivery Brands

By fodnews | November 26, 2018

Bucking the common practice of large franchised restaurants forming exclusive partnerships with a single third-party delivery provider, Subway announced new agreements with four delivery providers, which could dramatically shift the economics of restaurant delivery in smaller markets across the United States.

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Famous Dave’s Charts two Paths to Delivery

By Nicholas Upton | November 21, 2018

The casual dining segment of the restaurant industry in which Famous Dave’s plays continues to struggle. But Famous Dave’s is shifting efforts toward delivery both inside shared kitchens and with a small-format restaurant design. The company has continued a slow slog back to profitability, but much of its sales growth has come from off-premise dining. Sale of food consumed outside of the restaurant currently accounts for 45% of its sales (35% to go, 10% catering). That means a big opportunity to make that large part of the business a little […]

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Anxiously Awaiting Hy-Vee Grocery Delivery

By Tom Kaiser | November 21, 2018

Grocery shopping for the lazy, busy or somewhere in between has never been easier. As my town just outside Minneapolis anxiously awaits a proposed Hy-Vee grocery store, I’m looking forward to the possibilities as the company launches lunchtime and dinner delivery in its home market of Des Moines, Iowa.

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Food On Demand Conference Scales Up, Moves to Chicago

By Tom Kaiser | November 9, 2018

With five months to go, registration is now open for the Food On Demand Conference that will be held at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile in the heart of the Michigan Avenue dining and retail district April 1-2, 2019.

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Delivery, Rising Rents Shrinking Restaurant Footprints

By Tom Kaiser | November 1, 2018

Thanks to the still-fast-growing popularity of third-party delivery providers, restaurants are finding yet another reason to build smaller restaurants as so many sales come from off-premises diners.

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Uber Prepares Food-Delivery Drones

By Tom Kaiser | October 25, 2018

Hot meals being delivered from the sky are the natural end-game of this on-demand food delivery phenomenon. With this week’s news from The Wall Street Journal that UberEats plans to launch foody drones by 2021, and our own Nick Upton’s story on unmanned drone deliveries happening up in Canada, it’s clear that the uber-future is almost here—ready or not.

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Grubhub Announces Record Third Quarter, Stock Tanks

By Nicholas Upton | October 25, 2018

Grubhub, the first public company in the third-party delivery space, announced its third-quarter earnings today. The company announced earnings of 45 cents per share, beating consensus from Wall Street of 41 cents per share, a 10 percent beat. Topline revenues rose by 52 percent, driven skyward by a 40 percent increase in gross food sales. The all-important active diners metric grew by 67 percent year over year to reach 16.4 million, up from 9.8 million in the third quarter of 2017. “Daily average grubs” (DAGs) rose 37 percent year-over-year to […]

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Amazon, Supermarkets Neck and Neck in Online Grocery Race

By Tom Kaiser | October 19, 2018

No other grocery provider even comes close to Amazon’s dominant position relative to online grocery retailing, according to a new report from Brick Meets Click’s latest consumer survey. Amazon has captured 30 percent of online grocery spending in the U.S.

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Uber Launches Safety Toolkit for Riders, Drivers & Delivery

By Tom Kaiser | October 19, 2018

With a new safety-focused program rolling out to millions of riders, drivers and delivery partners, Uber is using technology to raise the bar on safety in its European, Middle Eastern and African markets.

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GH Lab Store a Convincing Take on Retail’s Future

By Tom Kaiser | October 12, 2018

The new GH Lab store at the Mall of America is a partnership between Good Housekeeping and Amazon—and it’s a convincing look at the future of retail by offering a better experience both for the retailer itself and the customers who browse this carefully curated store. It’s likely no coincidence that GH Lab is sandwiched between an Apple Store and a Microsoft Store. The storefront is glassy and transparent, and the interior is akin to upscale furniture or home goods store where virtual rooms are set up—spa-like bathroom, modern kitchen […]

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