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    Food Delivery App DoorDash Launches in Columbus

    Over the past year or so Columbus has gone from virtually no food delivery apps to many, with an ever-widening field including OrderUp, Skip the DishesPostmates, and as of yesterday, San Francisco-based DoorDash.

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    Columbus marks the 24th city for the food delivery app that touts connecting customers with local businesses.

    DoorDash is a platform that brings communities closer together by offering delivery from the city’s best local restaurants,” says Columbus Community Manager George Jacobs. 

    Columbus ticked off the required boxes like population size and other demographic factors that have indicated success in the past for the web, iOS and Android app, but, “Besides checking those boxes, Columbus has a very, very strong restaurant scene,” Jacobs says. 

    DoorDash280Columbus’ mix of single-location staples, local restaurant groups and headquarters for some of the nation’s largest restaurant chains make it an attractive food city, with each getting some representation on the app.

    Eateries like the Happy Greek, Thurman Cafe and Dirty Frank’s bring Columbus staples. Central Ohio-based fast-casual powerhouses Piada and BiBiBop represent local restaurant groups, while White Castle and Wendy’s hit the local fast-food note. All are just a smattering of the fast to formal food available for delivery through the app.

    DoorDash1DoorDash is a pretty standard affair on the customer end. Browse the delivery list and sort by options like Delight, Speed and Price, place your order, receive updates from preparation to pickup, and a Dasher (aka delivery driver) is at your door in an hour. All payment, included tipping, is handled through the app, meaning no cash exchange. To celebrate its launch, DoorDash delivery fees are only $1 through the end of May and bump up to standard rates starting at $4.99 on June 1.

    Delivery hours are seven days a week, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. and cover Downtown Columbus and many of the surrounding neighborhoods including Upper Arlington, Hilliard, Dublin, Powell, Westerville, Worthington, Lewis Center, New Albany and Gahanna.

    On the restaurant side, eateries aren’t necessarily required to sign up with DoorDash to make delivery available. The in-app list represents a mix of partner and non-partner restaurants. Partner restaurants work with DoorDash throughout the order and pickup process, receiving notifications on an iPad or tablet. On the flip side, restaurants do have the option to let DoorDash know they don’t want to be listed for delivery.

    With the options for food delivery expanding, Jacobs says DoorDash’s focus on technology and efficiency sets them apart. Empowering small, local businesses with the technology to offer delivery when they otherwise wouldn’t have the resources to do so is the core of why the service started. And, even if a restaurant already offers delivery, app listing can help a restaurant reach new audiences. DoorDash also leverages its technology and efficiency to get food in customers’ hands more quickly, ensuring a higher-quality product.

    For more information, visit doordash.com

    DoorDash2

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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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