
The brands continue to run their websites and operate separately, for now. Seamless, launched in New York, joined forces with Chicago-based GrubHub in August, merging their members and restaurant clients into one company, GrubHub Seamless. FoodToEat, launched two years ago, enlists New York food trucks and restaurants, and charges the eateries just 10 cents per order. OrderUp, launched in 2009, targets smaller cities and college towns such as Boise, Idaho and Lawrence, Kan. The recipe has encouraged more players to enter the field with slightly different business models. She chose GrubHub because it provides a delivery person and saved her from hiring additional staffers. Its lunch business was busy, delivering to film writers and producers who work in the area, owner Betty Fraser said. Grub, a Los Angeles restaurant not to be confused with GrubHub, does the same, sending customers a handwritten note and a $10 discount to dine in.

He slips notes into takeout bags of frequent online customers offering free dessert if they dine in. He’s trying to convert new customers to come into the New York restaurant. Takeout business doubled after it signed up, said Jeff Salamon, the general manager. Restaurants pay an average of 30 percent of each order for delivery, said Allen, who keeps abreast of industry practices through the Restaurant Marketing & Delivery Association.ĪG Kitchen uses Seamless and. “If you want to do business with certain companies, you need Seamless.” Now, Cinema Brasserie pays Seamless about 12 percent of each order. But three months later, regular lunch customers stopped ordering because their employers started using Seamless. Galanis didn’t want to give up a percentage of his sales. Cinema Brasserie had a strong delivery business. Seamless was used by businesses so that employees could order food at work, sometimes on the company’s dime. When Seamless approached New York restaurant owner Steve Galanis to join in 2001, he declined. give more market awareness to the industry.”

“I think the national organizations like GrubHub.

“We’ve seen a lot more national delivery companies enter the market,” she said.

Calling on two former employees, Todd Morgan and Brad Hosler, the trio of owners reopened Cafe Courier within months, said Kathie Allen, Cafe Courier’s marketing and business-development director. In 2000, the Allens sold their company to dot-com startup in Texas, which went bust in September 2001.
