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M Burger
<p><em>M Burger</em></p>

How two urban restaurateurs approach delivery

NRN is&nbsp;taking a deep dive into delivery&nbsp;in an ongoing series.

From quick service to full service, all types of restaurants are entering the delivery market and many are doing so by partnering with outside delivery services, such as Eat24, GrubHub, DoorDash or the new UberEats. Here executives from M Burger, a fast-casual burger chain owned by Lettuce Entertain You, and New York-based Greek concepts MP Taverna and Kefi share how they are successfully leveraging delivery.

M Burger

For M Burger, Lettuce Entertain You’s fast-casual burger chain with six locations in the Chicago area, adding delivery has been a game changer.

The counter-service chain began delivery about three years ago using its own website and a bicycle delivery team, but it has more recently transitioned to using a handful of outside delivery services. While the chain uses a variety of established delivery companies, it’s seeing some of the best results from UberEats, a new mobile service with drivers who deliver a curated menu from local restaurants.

“We’re all in love with UberEats,” said Tim Hockett, chef and partner with Lettuce Entertain You. “We’re selling 300 to 400 extra items in a given meal period.”

The appeal of UberEats to M Burgers’ core customers, 9-to-5 workers in Chicago’s business parks and the Loop, is the speed of delivery. UberEats promises delivery in 10 minutes, compared to other services that might take up to an hour to get food during the lunch rush.

“It’s redefined our lunch game,” said Hockett. “Now we’re finding that lunch traffic we’ve never really seen before.”

A number of other Lettuce Entertain You concepts are also moving in this direction with success, added Hockett.

MP Taverna, Kefi

Michael Psilakis, chef and owner of the Greek concepts MP Taverna and Kefi with locations in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, sees delivery from both an urban and suburban lens.

Michael Psilakis, chef and owner of MP Taverna and Kefi. Photo: Getty

For the last decade, Psilakis has offered delivery at Kefi, his authentic Greek bar and restaurant on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, using bicycle delivery coordinated by an in-house team. Meanwhile, at the MP Taverna, a traditional Greek tavern with locations in the more spread out Roslyn in Long Island, Irvington in Westchester and in Astoria, Queens, Psilakis recently began offering delivery using a wide spectrum of outside companies, such as Caviar and GrubHub.

“We’re in an urban environment. There’s a dense population. The culture is for people to order and dine out,” said Psilakis. “In the boroughs it’s not as dense. It’s a different animal. It makes it complicated to have a guy on a bicycle. ”

Though delivery at all of his restaurants has been growing between three and five percent annually, Psilakis says it has not been without challenges.

“The more formal the restaurant the larger the hurdle to get the quality of the food to the standard you want it to be to the customer,” said Psilakis. “Everything has to change. That’s a major hurdle.”

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