Fresno Restaurateurs Hope Uber Eats Will Expand Their Customer Base
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PERIODICAL: 2,2017 JUNE 15-16 TIME 26 SENSITIVE 17-25 DAILY PRIORITY HANDLING FRIDAY, JUNE2,2017 restaurants across the city. the across restaurants to them to take drivers Uber from phones to cell order aride their get on Fresno area the people in Eats restaurant delivery service. Uber the with partnering Fresno in restaurants 80 of about one of KoJa Kitchen, manager is Chanthalangsy |Noy DAVID CASTELLON improve wireless coverage Fresno enters partnership to and counties and any of the any and counties and for municipalities between go- the as described she that company infrastructure awireless 5Bars, based McGaffigan. Monnie said capability, online faster that getting to have alead in track on city put the has Council Fresno City hereisn’t the yet, faster. connectivity data mobile your to make looking are phonecell carriers major the computer, personal phone cell on profile or your date’s Facebook blind your out or check friends with aselfie share Uber, order an will expand their customer base customer their expand will Eats Uber hope restaurateurs Fresno David Castellon – Now those customers can skip skip can customers Now those of thousands month, Every She’s president of Irvine- data 5G so-called while And now you can as fast As David Castellon –
STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER McGaffigan said, adding that that adding said, McGaffigan coverage for them,”better it means concerned, are coverage4G now available. coverage current here over the to provide 5G carriers the allow will eventually which download speeds,increase and city the coverage around wireless in gaps fill could that to receive city technology the to market as well as here, that to do 5Bars with agreement approved an Council City communities. in wireless for infrastructure upgraded or deploy to construct want T-MobileVerizon and —that AT&T, —Sprint, companies wireless major four nation’s had started in Fresno, the latest latest Fresno, the in started had Eats Uber that announced Inc. room. hotel or workplace home, deliver it toand their restaurants food orders at local pick up their drivers have Uber instead and to arestaurant a trip
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UBER EATSUBER TO TOWN COMES BY THE NUMBERS ing report- Journal Business Eats, Uber Source: • $14.43 BigMacmeal cost through Uber • $7.44 normalcost of aBigMacmeal • 35 percent of meal charge paid by • $6.99 delivery fee percustomer order • 40U.S. citiesthat have theservice • 80participating restaurants inFresno Eats restaurant state to use nearly $10 million to fight an important threat to the industry. the to threat important an to fight $10 million nearly to use state the for easier it make will Brown’s desk Gov. on is CONTRIBUTED that Jerry | Legislation areas from an insect-spread insect-spread an from areas protect trees residential in citrus to to on spend efforts million $9.6 additional have an will (CDFA) Agriculture Food and event to announce the launch launch the event to announce service. food-delivery service’s transport digitally-based the — offering U.S. world the in —40 of them the around cities of 120 about State lands $9.6M to fight citrus disease David Castellon – The California Department of of Department California The Company officials held a press held a press officials Company ANNIVERSARAN | NI VE RS Uber ARA R $1.2 Y | 5 PERCOPY 2 STAFF WRITER
produces bitter, mottled fruit fruit produces bitter, mottled to them causing initially trees, citrus other and grapefruit lemon, orange, only infects that —abacteria — or “HLB” disease. You, a restaurant deliveryYou, arestaurant Food ToSacramento-based of owner McAdams, Daren said pools,” driver unlimited technology, unlimited cash, have unlimited They Uber. are They for us. sales less stores out ofvideo business. owned independently driving and 1980s the in cities into coming Video or Hollywood Video to Blockbuster Eats businesses. delivery restaurant established for but it’s not businesses, and homes deliveredfood to their restaurant for having options who appreciate addedfoodies aweek. to add acity plans with month, this earlier Sacramento Fresno and in which included launching cities, to smaller focus its areas. urban and cities largest nation’s the in mostly service delivery out food its rolled Uber’s path in services delivery Restaurant David Castellon – That disease is huanglongbing huanglongbing is disease That “Obviously, it means Uber some liken fact, In for news good be may That shifting is company Now the recently, Inc. Uber, Until thebusinessjournal.com
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Uber | from 1 Individual restaurants also may post last week at KoJa Kitchen in Fresno, links to Uber Eats on their websites. one of about 80 restaurants in the city Once on the site or app, people can partnering with Uber Eats to offer the look up particular restaurants partnered delivery service. with Uber Eats or search restaurants And plans are in the coming months based on types of cuisine and then look DISCOVER to increase the number of partner at their menus. restaurants, which range from fast food Customers can click on the dishes establishments that include McDonalds, and drinks they want to order, type in THE POWER to casual dining that includes Pacifica the delivery addresses and pay with a Pizza to various ethnic and high-end credit card. Those orders then are sent establishments and even food trucks. to Uber Eats tablets at the participating OF PLACE For now, the service is limited to just restaurants, while Uber dispatches Workplaces designed to support the physical, the Fresno city limits, but that could drivers to pick up the food at those cognitive and emotional needs of people. expand if enough restaurants in outlying restaurants and deliver it, Carroll areas or other Valley cities that could explained. To learn more, visit www.tangraminteriors.com include Visalia, Hanford, Madera and A $6.99 “booking” fee — which varies Clovis ask to partner. by city — is tacked onto the Fresno “We definitely need a cluster to make restaurant bill by Uber, which also keeps the marketplace work. We can’t just 35 percent of the cost of the food as its expand one [restaurant] at a time,” said fee from each restaurant. Clay Carroll, general manager for Uber The idea is that what restaurants Eats in Fresno. lose from each bill would more than be As for the drivers, those already using made up by increases in delivery orders, their cars to transport people can choose Carroll said. to also do food deliveries, or people can A recent order of a Big Mac meal on sign up to take just Uber Eats calls. Uber Eats came out to $14.43. While While food delivery is nothing new that may seem a lot — the total bill — as restaurants have been doing it would be $7.44 if you physically went on their own for decades, and private to McDonald’s — Carroll said “There restaurant delivery services have been is a lot of demand for a platform like around since the 1980s — Carroll said Uber Eats.” his company’s service offers a higher He said the company began level of convenience than most of those experimenting with food delivery a Central Valley Showroom other services. couple of years ago in Toronto, Canada. 677 West Palmdon Drive, Suite 101 The way it works is that customers “We definitely see it increases Fresno, California 93704 can go online to www.ubereats.com or the customer base — to expand to a use a downloadable app on their smart customer base they wouldn’t otherwise 559.316.0300 phones and tablets in much the same way they order rides from Uber. Uber | 3
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DAVID CASTELLON | Uber Eat’s smart tablet is hooked up to cash registers at KoJa Kitchen in Fresno to show incoming Uber Eats orders. A driver will be dispatched to pick up the meal that was paid for on the Uber Eats app.
Uber | from 2 and it brings in additional business. In fact, he said the manager of the San reach,” which includes people not Francisco restaurant urged him to inclined to go out to eat or pick up food partner up with the service when the on their own and those unable to do so, Fresno restaurant opened Jan. 1, but he said, though he offered no statistics that didn’t happen, as Uber Eats wasn’t to support his claim. offered here yet. Among the U.S. regions where Uber Now that the service is here, “We Eats is offered are New York, Los will connect with our customers at a Angeles, Houston and the Bay Area. different level,” Chanthalangsy said. The latter area is where eight other “Sometimes, customers don’t always restaurants in the KoJa Kitchen chain want to come out [to eat]. They can use are located. Uber Eats to get food delivered to their Noy Chanthalangsy, manager of doors.” KoJa’s Fresno restaurant, said he has been told that other restaurants in the David Castellon | Reporter can be reached at: chain have partnered with Uber Eats, 490-3464 or e-mail [email protected]
2017
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Eats | from 1 Eats hits the Central Coast. But undercutting Uber may be a business serving the Fresno and challenge, as Uber has deep pockets Clovis areas. and can afford to offer specials and Grubhub also serves Fresno, but is price cuts for extended periods, affiliated with just five restaurants McAdams noted. in the city, according to its website. For his part, Carroll acknowledged McAdams said Grubhub remains that his bosses aren’t expecting the nation’s largest restaurant Uber Eats to be profitable in the near delivery service — in part because future while they work to establish it recently acquired several and expand their footholds in Fresno independents and merged in 2013 and the other cities. with another major restaurant In fact, he said that in some cases, delivery service, Seamless. the drivers will be paid a portion of But expectations in the industry the $6.99 booking fees — based on are that Uber Eats will continue miles traveled, time of day and other to grow and challenge Grubhub’s factors — and in some cases they’ll dominance, in part because the be paid more. Uber name is well known and McAdams said one area where he likely will appeal to people who hopes to be more competitive with like Uber’s personal transportation Uber Eats is in customer service, as service and its delivery service for he believes home delivery customers businesses, Uber Rush. will find it difficult to reach Uber Regardless if a restaurant delivery Eats representatives to complain service is part of a big chain or an about botched food orders, slow independent, “If you don’t have the delivery and other issues, while he technology, you can’t compete,” expects his business can do a better which includes the ability to take job of connecting with customers food orders online or through an and getting food orders and other app and provide real-time driver problems fixed. tracking,” McAdams said. He said he’s encouraged because “Technology makes it so easy to business for him is up slightly in order these days, especially because Sacramento since Uber Eats became of the smart phone. If you don’t have active there. that technology, Uber is going to “We’re the local store, and they’re eat your business,” he said, adding Blockbuster, and we are going to that in Fresno, his business offers be Red Box,” McAdams said. “It’s phone and online ordering but not going to come down to cost, speed the other technologies. and customer service, and they are POWERING CENTRAL VALLEY BUSINESSES WITH But McAdams is working on that, so big, good luck on getting them to DEDICATED INTERNET ACCESS noting that he added an app and fix your burgers.” driver tracking for the Sacramento But Uber Eats may not be the only leg of his business five months ago big challenge McAdams and his in anticipation of Uber Eats starting business may face. there, and he relaunched his service News reports indicate that Uber’s there under a new name, “FoodJets.” chief rival in people transport, Lyft, “We are a few months away to is considering launching its own bringing it to Fresno with faster delivery service, like Uber Rush. delivery and cheaper prices” — with And it has been suggested that Lyft booking fees that probably will start uses that service to partner with at $2.99 here compared to Uber Eat’s restaurants to deliver their food, $6.99 fee. while another possibility has the Brian Breon, president and CEO of company partnering with Grubhub Cafe Runner, a restaurant delivery and Yelp’s Eat24 restaurant delivery service serving San Luis Obispo, services to have Lyft drivers do their Santa Maria and the Pismo Beach deliveries. area, said a colleague of his in Lyft officials didn’t respond to Bakersfield already has cut his requests to discuss the company’s booking fees to $1 to build up and plans. retain his clientele before Uber Eats starts there. Breon said he expects David Castellon | Reporter can be reached at: 490- to slash his own fees, too, once Uber 3464 or e-mail [email protected]