DoorDash Invests In Restaurant For First Time

Food delivery app DoorDash is working alongside California-based Burma Superstar for a brick-and-mortar store, according to a report from The Verge.

The spinoff is called Burma Bites, and it will be designed for delivery and takeout, boasting menu items from the parent restaurant alongside new items, presented in environmentally-friendly to-go containers.

The Verge, quoting local media, reported the menu items will be priced between $12 and $19.

The restaurant, in planning for around a year, was initially supposed to open in March, but was delayed by the pandemic, The Verge reported. DoorDash didn’t say how much it had invested in the project.

DoorDash’s overall goal was “empowering restaurants with the tools to connect with more customers and build new revenue streams,” according to Georgie Thomas, head of regional merchant partnerships at DoorDash, quoted by The Verge. Thomas added that the creation of a to-go menu from scratch was further than the company had taken the concept in the past.

The pandemic has resulted in a boost for DoorDash, which saw sales go up while people were locked down and restaurants were forced to close.

The company filed to go public back in February and could still be looking at an initial public offering (IPO) before the end of the year. In June, the company said it had raised $400 million in equity capital, bringing its total value to almost $16 billion. That money came from new investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Co. as well as Durable Capital Partners LP in addition to current investors, accounts and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates.

In related news, PYMNTS reported that DoorDash has also expanded on its delivery services with DashMart virtual convenience stores, which purport to offer a variety of restaurant, food and convenience items, including snacks, dog food and cough medicine, alongside spice rubs and packaged desserts from local restaurants. Other apps like Postmates have introduced other such innovations.