Clever NJ Restaurant Owners Create New Food Delivery Service

Who hasn't used a food delivery service before?  You almost have to anymore.  Most places don't have their own delivery drivers.

Ever want to order from one of those places featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives?

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It is safe to say, the restaurant business has been one of the hardest-hit businesses during the pandemic.

Family-owned operations that have been passed down from generations were forced to close up shop because they either could not survive the lockdown last year, or adapt to a creative business operation with outdoor seating.

Even worse, not be able to retain help to keep the kitchen active.

That has been a big challenge at the Jersey Shore.  Many restaurant owners this summer were dealt the difficult task of being able to hire the appropriate amount of help to keep the business running.

New Jersey unemployment insurance which included the additional $300 a week pretty much lessened the incentive for workers to go back to work.  Now that Governor Phil Murphy discontinued those extra $300 weekly checks, the New Jersey workforce should rebound in the coming months, as citizens realize they need an income.

As if restaurants need something else to hamper their revenue, another obstacle rears its ugly head.  Those delivery services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Door Dash.  Many of us have used these services as a convenient way to have our food brought directly to our homes.

Well apparently, those conveniences have taken a big chunk out of the restaurant's bottom line.  Some restaurants in Jersey City are taking matters into their own hands to try and reclaim those lost profits by creating their own delivery service.

Anthony Martino, owner of Ghost Truck Kitchen is the leader of this adventure.  He says about those third-party services…

“There’s never going to be a true partnership between myself and a large multinational corporation.  They really don’t have my best interests in mind. Any chance they get, they’re going to look to take advantage of me."

The service is called Gold Coast Community Delivery.  The trend-setting endeavor offers businesses a few options to participate.

The fee-based plan also offers a profit-sharing opportunity.   The non-fee plan offers restaurants an opportunity to be “listed “, pay commission on orders up to 20%, and be excluded from profit-sharing.

Customers will eventually have an app to use the service, but for now, it's browser-based.

The goal for this new collective delivery campaign is to create a service to which the community responds and spread the revenue from deliveries back into the independent restaurants.

I see this catching on everywhere.  More and more community restaurant owners will see the fruits of this labor and follow suit.