To the Editor,

The Covid Omicron surge is once again playing havoc, especially with patrons not going out to eat at restaurants again. Take out of course is the answer to still enjoy good meals, but also to support our local venues as they struggle through this waive. 

At issue though, is peoples’ use of third-party apps and delivery services such as Uber Eats, Door Dash and Grub Hub. They charge as much as a 30% fee to the restaurant for delivery and an unbelievable 25% for an order that is picked up by the customer themselves. According to Bob O’Mahoney, co-owner of Viva Zapata, “those fees are our profit margin.”  

The answer is old school, and to bypass these services. The Chamber of Commerce is launching an initiative called “Order Direct – Pick it up.” We are asking residents to either call up or use a restaurant’s own website or app to make a take out order either online or by phone and then pick it up. This simple adjustment in thinking and action will put these excessive fees back into the pocket of our local friends and businesspeople. 

Howard Bass CEO of Manna Toast said, “we offer pickup and delivery through our website and try our best to encourage customers to order directly, as the third-party platforms take 30% off the top.” 

We are not alone in this thinking. The giant national pizza chain Domino’s has been running commercials for the last two months saying the same, to support small local merchants. Domino’s franchise owner Steve Dolan said, “The best way for customers to support local restaurants now is to go back to [them] directly and don’t use delivery apps.”   

The goal is for people to order take out and pick up their own food, but if you need or must have a delivery then these services are of course available to be used, especially if no alternative exists. As Angelo Capponi, owner of Bene e Bene said, “70% is better than 0%, but we also offer take out, and we hope people will come to us. They can just call us up.”  

While this concept is coming to a head now amidst the pandemic, it’s something that should be embraced moving forward. Clearly use of third-party apps is easy, but the cost to our local economy is huge. Please reach out to your favorite restaurant, find out how they would like you to Order Directly and Pick it Up. 

Thanks to Miggs Burroughs for the artwork. 

Matthew Mandell 

Executive Director  

Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce