Ghost Kitchens at the Top of the World
Ghost kitchens don’t exactly conjure up the sexy, flashy image of the best restaurants in the world. These multi-tenant, delivery-focused spaces are often built in non-desirable real estate, with the priority on access for delivery drivers and affordable rent to make...
Uber Eats Releases Survey of Delivery During the Pandemic
A new survey of restaurant operators on the Uber Eats platform shows many feel that, were it not for third-party delivery volume, the vast majority would have had to lay off staff members or cut staff hours to get through the pandemic. Putting a finer point on it,...
Constituents, Industry Best Practices Guide Waitr’s Turnaround
When Waitr (NASDAQ: WTRH) pre-announced its second quarter results, it looked like a starkly different company than it did at the beginning of 2020. But it wasn’t the new popularity of delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic that got the company back on track, it was...
DoorDash Links Up with Walgreens
There’s a rush of delivery providers and marketplaces diversifying beyond restaurant delivery and moving into new corners of retail. The latest example is DoorDash, which just announced a new partnership to deliver thousands of items from Walgreens on demand. This...
Portillo’s Going Native with Delivery Driver Hiring Spree
Portillo’s, the Chicago-dog institution, will be coming to diners via native delivery soon. The company first implemented delivery via DoorDash in 2017 and has expanded with Uber Eats as well, but a new hiring spree of “several hundred” workers will help the company...
FreshRealm Helping Restaurants Package At-Home Meals
While we’re hopefully past the worst of the pandemic shortages and hoarding, FreshRealm is betting restaurants still have a lot to gain by packaging cook-at-home meals that can either be sold individually or as an up-sell for customers already dropping by to pick up...
Bite Squad is Back in Growth Mode
Bite Squad—a third-party delivery platform that’s a subsidiary of Waitr—is back in growth mode, according to various news reports, as it looks to add hundreds of new drivers in key markets, along with new executive team members and expanding its delivery service in...
CloudKitchens Rolls Out Shared Drive-Thru Alley Concept
A new model for ghost kitchens has quietly rolled out in Los Angeles. CloudKitchens opened up what amounts to an alley adjacent to several shared-kitchen storefronts. According to the foodservice newsletter HNGRY, it’s an expensive new idea that combines both...
Food Delivery Lands NBA Star in Quarantine
From the unintended-consequences-of-food-delivery desk comes the story of NBA great Richaun Holmes stuck in his hotel room after getting a food delivery order. Holmes, the center for the Sacramento Kings, “broke the bubble” the NBA has created around the Disney World...
Outstanding Operators
Food On Demand Outstanding Operators features restaurant brands with innovative operations that are taking creative paths to success with delivery and all things off-premises.