Twenty years ago The Popcorn Report predicted work-weary Americans would someday begin “cocooning,” huddling at home with family for quiet meals and entertainment. And amid the gloom of the recession, that prophecy has proven true, but not necessarily for the sake of feel-good family time. Folks are cost-cutting as much as cocooning at dinner, and that means fewer seats are filled at restaurants. But some operators also see it as a fresh opportunity to explore or grow their delivery service.
Once the province of pizza and Chinese operations, pricier spots are delivering meals to homes and offices with increasing regularity, especially as the economy softens. Two years ago, when she sensed the financial boom days couldn’t last forever, multi-concept operator Donatella Arpaia created the value-positioned, delivery-ready Mia Dona restaurant, which opened in Manhattan seven months ago. She and business partner, chef Michael Psilakis, are adding a similar operation called Kefi later this year.
“New Yorkers, are not going to stop eating out, but they know they’ve got to spend less,” said Arpaia. “They’re not going to start cooking for themselves, either, so I wanted to create more affordable options with Mia Dona. Delivery was always going to be a part of that.”
Though not every operation has enjoyed such forethought for delivery, some, like Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!, have adjusted to accommodate increasing orders for that option. Placed conveniently in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurant serves up an increasing number of dishes to customers—especially nearby office staffs who used to take up tables—hoping to save a few bucks by dining in.
“We do a lot of large orders now, 10 to 15 people, working late in an office,” said executive chef Timothy Cottini. The restaurant uses a third-party service to deliver its food; Mia Dona has dedicated staff. “We were never set up for it, so you can experience a bit of a bottleneck when we get a lot of those orders. It can slow down the flow of service at the expo point if we’re not careful.”
Jim Gerhardt, co-owner of Limestone Restaurant in Louisville, Ky., said delivery is a slowly growing service option for businesses patronizing his fine-dining spot, though he hasn’t reached out yet to residents. Delivered orders for private jet crews and their pampered passengers are on the increase, as are late-evening deliveries to executives putting in late hours at nearby office buildings.
“We deliver right now on a selective basis … and every little bit helps right now,” Gerhardt said. “There’s no doubt people are [intentionally] saving money by not coming in and buying wine or liquor. So if this works for them for now, we’re happy to accommodate them.”
Independent restaurants aren’t alone among full-service operators in experimenting with delivery. The Cheesecake Factory disclosed plans last summer to expand a six-market test of delivery to 13 markets and 62 units. BJ’s Restaurants, another high-volume casual concept, is also testing the service.
Despite the obvious customer benefits, some operators said delivery isn’t always an easy sell. Patrons of finer restaurants are conditioned to think a great restaurant meal must be enjoyed in the restaurant. Arpaia said her customers are catching on slowly to the fact that delivery doesn’t just mean pizza or subs.
“It takes people a while to think of delivery in terms of better-quality food and value,” she said. “Perception is reality, and people think delivery is cheap. But it's not cheap if you get good-quality stuff for a reasonable price.”
Jason Finger, president of SeamlessWeb.com, which facilitates delivery and carryout Web orders for restaurants, said he’s seen a definite increase in the number of delivery transactions handled by his finer-dining restaurant clients. Though none said delivery sales are booming, when viewed from the broader perspective of all the metro markets Seamless serves, the numbers show a clearly upward trend.
“Though they might be ordering more delivery, what we do know is they’re spending less per transaction,” Finger said. “The good news is the numbers show these restaurants aren’t losing customers.”
Knowing not all dishes travel well, some chefs, like Gerhardt, limit delivery options. “I’ll send out short ribs or sea bass, but not pasta.” Mia Dona’s delivery menu also is limited for the same reason, and for quicker transaction turnaround.
Café-Ba-Ba-Reeba’s whole menu is available, which mean’s Cottini’s crew takes great pains to pack items correctly and supply reheating instructions for customers.
“We make sure the cold stuff goes with cold stuff, the hot with the hot,” he said. “You don’t want crisp salad wilting in a bag with hot items.”
Saloon Steakhouse beverage manager Wylie Shaffer said the entire menu is available for delivery, which meant the kitchen has had to adjust its cooking some.
“We use a delivery service, so it’s always a guess as to whether they’ll show up on time,” said Shaffer, who works in Chicago. “So if someone wants a steak medium-rare and it sits too long in the window waiting on the delivery guy, it can be medium before it goes. We have to try to anticipate that.”
Both he and Cottini believe customers who order delivery from pricier restaurants expect the experience won’t rival an in-house visit. But they still do what they can to make the food as close to perfect as possible.
“If I’m ordering fried calamari, I definitely have a lower expectation of it than if I’m sitting in the restaurant and it’s coming straight from the kitchen,” Cottini said. “We do the best we can regardless of what they order.”
