Today in Restaurant and Grocery Tech: DoorDash Offers Increased Flexibility; Dunkin’ Parent Launches Ghost Kitchen

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news: DoorDash and Grubhub compete to meet restaurants’ increasingly specific digital needs, while Dunkin’ parent Inspire Brands launches its first multi-brand ghost kitchen. Plus, Alex Lee of Resy and the American Express Global Dining Network discusses how digital tools can help table service restaurants compete with the off-premise boom.

DoorDash and Grubhub Race to Offer Restaurants the Most Flexible Fulfillment

When online delivery orders made up only a small fraction of all sales, the turnkey solution was the best option for most restaurants. Third-party aggregators gave them access to digital order-taking and payment tools and drivers to fulfill delivery orders, as well as a marketplace for new customer acquisition. Now, however, as the online ordering space has evolved, so have restaurants’ needs. One restaurant might, say, need to be discoverable on the marketplace but have its own delivery drivers, while another might only need the order-taking tools.

Grab’s Q3 Results Show Bumpy Path to Super App Status as Asian Lockdowns Linger

During Grab’s quarterly conference call, Anthony Tan, CEO, noted that “as the pandemic intensified throughout Q3, we saw several governments in Southeast Asia ratchet up COVID-related restrictions, both in terms of severity and duration. All eight markets in which we operate were affected, with six of them experiencing tighter controls.”

Dine-In Restaurant Recovery Hinges on Digital Experiences

Alex Lee of Resy and the American Express Global Dining Network explains how tech can help restaurants recover by providing a competitive on-premise experience.

Restaurant Roundup: Goldbelly Uses Shoppable Content to Escape DoorDash’s Chokehold

Goldbelly announces a suite of shoppable video content, Wendy’s leverages its ghost kitchens to weather labor challenges, Inspire Brands launches its cross-brand virtual location and Red Robin leverages loyalty rewards to drive sales.