As gas prices rise, aggregators are forced to find solutions for their drivers who deliver via car.
DoorDash announced Tuesday (March 15) that it has set up a Gas Rewards program, offering drivers 10% cash back on gas via their DasherDirect cards, and those who complete orders over especially long distances each week get additional cash back. These initiatives will remain in effect “at least through April,” and the company stated that it plans to “explore additional resources” in the near future.
See also: DoorDash Partners With Payfare To Launch Banking Solution For Drivers
One day earlier, on Monday (March 14), Bloomberg reported that Grubhub has raised per-mile distance pay by an unspecified amount.
“We’re committed to offering competitive rates for our drivers and are constantly making adjustments on a market-by-market basis to ensure we have enough drivers to meet diner demand,” a Grubhub spokesperson told the news outlet in an email. “This includes increasing driver pay given current gas prices and continuing to monitor the situation.”
Uber, for its part, announced last Friday (March 11) that it is adding a $0.35 or $0.45 surcharge on all Uber Eats orders to compensate workers for the gas cost.
“We know that prices have been going up across the economy, so we’ve done our best to help drivers and couriers without placing too much additional burden on consumers,” Liza Winship, head of driver operations for the U.S. and Canada, wrote.
Chipotle Tries Out ‘Chippy’ Robotic Kitchen Assistant
As restaurants struggle to keep operations running smoothly in the face of industry-wide labor challenges, Chipotle is trying out an artificial intelligence (AI) autonomous kitchen assistant created by Miso Robotics. The assistant, dubbed “Chippy,” prepares tortilla chips according to the brand’s recipe.
“We are always exploring opportunities to enhance our employee and guest experience,” Chipotle Chief Technology Officer Curt Garner said in a statement. “Our goal is to drive efficiencies through collaborative robotics that will enable Chipotle’s crew members to focus on other tasks in the restaurant.”
The test is taking place at the Chipotle Cultivate Center test kitchen in Irvine, California, with an additional location to come in Southern California later in the year.
The announcement comes at a time when labor difficulties make it difficult for restaurants to keep up with high consumer demand.
“[Restaurants are] still struggling. So, revenue’s up, dining is up, and it really could be a boom market for them if they could get the labor,” Andrew Robbins, CEO of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) customer experience management (CXM) solutions provider Paytronix, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in a recent interview. “There are still people who are shutting down, not doing the full day that they would normally do and closing some nights, so they don’t overwork the team — so maybe close a Monday, Tuesday night, but work people longer hours Friday/Saturday. It’s still a real problem.”
Related news: Labor Challenges Stifling Would-Be Restaurant Boom, Paytronix CEO Says
Burger King Looks to Sell Off Its Stake in Joint Venture in Russia
Amid Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, Burger King is looking to sell its 15% ownership stake in its joint venture in Russia.
“We started the process to dispose our ownership stake in the business,” David Shear, international president of Burger King parent company RBI, wrote in an open letter to employees. “While we would like to do this immediately, it is clear that it will take some time to do so based on the terms of our existing joint venture agreement.”
Shear went on to say that, against RBI’s wishes, the main operator in the country “refused” to suspend operations of the roughly 800 Burger King restaurants in the country, adding that RBI does not have the ability unilaterally shut down the business.
“Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes,” he wrote. “Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today? No.”
The ONE Group Tests out Ghost Kitchen Model for Historically Table-Service Brands
Typically, ghost kitchens thrive in categories that were, even before the rise of digital ordering, associated with off-premise occasions. Pizza, chicken wings, and burgers, among other takeout staples, have all gotten the ghost kitchen treatment, targeting the high demand for these foods through delivery marketplaces.
Now, The ONE Group, parent company of full-service restaurant and lounge chain STK Steakhouse and of full-service grill chain Kona Grill, is making moves into the ghost kitchen space, licensing its brands to three Reef virtual locations.
The move is meant to complement the company’s existing growth strategy, offering additional insight as to how its brands perform in new areas.
“I think the next REEF place we’re going to is Austin, Texas,” Manny Hilario, president and CEO of The ONE Group, told analysts on a call Monday (March 14) discussing the company’s Q4 2021 results. “We have no restaurants in there, so that will give us a good opportunity to test what we can do. … It’s a very interesting upside, auxiliary growth opportunity, but it is not part of our core growth strategy.”
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