Sunday, February 18, 2024

How We Got Food Delivery



A long time ago, rich people, royalty to be exact, could send servants to a restaurant to get food if the kitchen servants didn't please them. Then a guy in India started a delivery service to get lunch to workers, but there were no restaurants involved. They just picked up hot food from your home and delivered it to your workplace. You'd have thought that restaurants would have gotten into the business a little earlier, but it took until 1922 for restaurant delivery to become a thing in the US, and even then it only progressed by fits and starts. Food outlets mostly went a different way, because Americans were already on the go, and getting food by takeout or from a drive-through on the way was pretty simple. But then the internet (and GPS) opened the door for innovation in food delivery. The history of delivery apps goes back further than you might think. The statistics on the state of food delivery business today are staggering. How do people afford to have food delivered so much? (via Geeks Are Sexy)


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that Pete Rose in the thumbnail?!?

gwdMaine said...

Two lifetimes ago when I lived in Northern Virginia, there was a Domino's a couple miles away. Back then, Domino's delivered in 30 minutes or less else the pizza was free. On busy weekends they delivered a lot of pizzas on a circular route that ended on my street. One day some major construction cut off one end of my street. I'd order a pizza, the driver did his route, but when he came up my street he was blocked and had to turn around and circle back. While that construction was underway, never once did they make a delivery in under 30 minutes. Got a lot of free pizza back then.

Today in Southern Maine, Domino's is knocking $3 off the price of a pizza if you come pick it up yourself.