“We’d get a phone call from a call center in a different country placing the order, and if we had questions about a modification, we couldn’t get in touch with the customer,” he said. Their issues with Grubhub extended beyond just the fees Ladley said the ordering process was a headache and left little room for customer interaction, which is a problem when dealing with something like a food allergy or an on-the-fly menu change. “And then to give 30% off the top for somebody to maybe deliver your food in a decent amount of time?” That didn’t work for Nudo House. “Margins on food are already slim anyway,” Ladley pointed out. For most restaurants, keeping the commission as low as possible is a major priority, especially now, when a lot of people are dining out less. Nudo House’s Delmar location has been operating with over 70% of its sales coming from carryout and delivery recently, meaning a ton of orders are coming through Postmates. “They’re still taking money from us, but it’s a necessary evil,” he explained. Between the two Nudo House locations and sister restaurant Mai Lee, the restaurants were able to get a small break on the fees. “We didn’t like what was offering in terms of fees, so we went with Postmates,” explained Nudo House general manager Chris Ladley. When the new partnership proved to be unsatisfactory, Nudo House switched to Postmates.

Nudo House used to use a delivery service called Skip the Dishes, which was folded into Grubhub in its U.S. While some local restaurants have found silver linings in the services that apps like Grubhub and DoorDash offer, others have searched for their own solutions, including a locally based delivery app that offers a more environmentally – and for some, financially – sustainable option. Now, restaurants are contending with unprecedented numbers of to-go orders, which can mean paying astronomical fees to delivery services that demand up to 30% in commission for managing ordering and delivery. But with the pandemic limiting the ways diners can patronize their favorite spots, many restaurants have switched to carryout, including some that have never offered it before. For a lot of people, getting food delivered used to mean Chinese or pizza most other meals required dining out, or at least leaving the house to pick up food.

Tower grove pizza delivery