NYC restaurants cutting out third-party delivery services

NEW YORK - Forking over hefty delivery app fees has been a growing problem for many restaurants--especially during the pandemic. So some eateries are now getting some high-tech help in order to have more control and more profits.  

Shai Sudai, is the managing partner and co-owner of Nish Nush, a Mediterranean-vegetarian eatery that relied heavily on takeout and delivery throughout the pandemic. His restaurant was losing anywhere between 20-30% per order plus, $5.00 per delivery when people ordered via third-party delivery services like GrubHub.

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Sudai, who along with his partner provided hundreds of meals to healthcare workers last year says Nish Nush struggled to break even with the third-party delivery model.

For a monthly fee, Nish Nush partnered with 9fold which has helped direct customers to order directly from the restaurant's website.

Sudai says the service helped to convert roughly 30% of third-party app customers and the restaurant is saving anywhere between 15-30% on orders. Plus the service also benefits customers through discounts and promotions.

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"It gives us the opportunity to talk to the customer directly," says Sudai. "So if the customer gets an order and has an issue or has good feedback--they can email and I can reply directly to them."

Lunchbox is another transitional service like 9fold. CEO and Co-Founder Nabeel Alamgir, started the company two years ago to simplify food tech for everyone.

"I think a whole new generation of people are being introduced to ordering from home," says Alamgir. "But the problem is the whole new generation of restaurateurs are not introduced to the same amount of tech at the same time. So we're trying to make that equitable."