{"id":335540,"date":"2017-03-11T01:38:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-10T17:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1463402"},"modified":"2017-03-11T01:38:09","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T17:38:09","slug":"nfls-drew-brees-backs-waitr-to-make-takeout-easy-in-anytown-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/nfls-drew-brees-backs-waitr-to-make-takeout-easy-in-anytown-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL\u2019s Drew Brees backs Waitr to make takeout easy in anytown USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Food delivery startups abound in the U.S., but few of them deliver to customers in second cities and smaller towns. From early pioneers like Grubhub to newer services like DoorDash, food delivery businesses have tended to focus on\u00a0urban areas with a high concentration of restaurants and people who frequently\u00a0order takeout.<\/p>\n

Now, New Orleans Saints Quarterback, philanthropist<\/a> and angel investor Drew Brees<\/a> is backing a\u00a0startup called Waitr<\/a> to make takeout more convenient outside of the biggest cities. Waitr, which is based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been delivering food from restaurants to customers\u2019 homes since 2014 in places like Lafayette, New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sacramento, Calfornia, and Beaumont, Texas.<\/p>\n

Brees, who has been investing in startups for about 5 years said, \u201cThe first thing that grabbed my attention about Waitr was the impact it had on one of our companies, Walk-Ons Bistreaux and Bar. It was increasing our sales at each location by 10% or more. As I began to learn more about the company, there was no doubt in my mind it would be a leader in food delivery.\u201d The athlete-investor said Waitr proved the \u201cfastest and most efficient delivery system,\u201d versus competitors.<\/p>\n

Altogether, Waitr<\/a> now delivers to 18 cities in four states, said CEO and founder Chris Meaux, filling over 50,000 orders each week for delivery or carryout. The company has signed white tablecloth restaurants and big franchises alike. Besides working with Brees-backed Walk-Ons, Waitr has deals with the\u00a0Landry\u2019s Inc.<\/a> hospitality group and\u00a0Buffalo Wild Wings<\/a>, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Waitr is a food delivery app operating in towns that GrubHub forgot.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Waitr\u00a0app asks you to select your city, take a look at the list of restaurants and\u00a0cuisine available near you, and then drill down to the menu to place your order.\u00a0Waitr employs its own drivers, and that allows it to have enough people on-hand to fulfill delivery orders in smaller towns or when demand spikes, as it does around certain holidays and on the weekends.<\/p>\n

Meaux is proud of creating jobs in the Gulf region, and in any markets where Waitr expands, he said.\u00a0The company has also kept its fundraising efforts local, thus far.\u00a0Its\u00a0newest $10 million round of funding brings Waitr\u2019s total capital raised to $16 million. Joining Brees in the round were a number of other\u00a0local \u00a0angels.<\/p>\n

Besides focusing on different geographies than competitors do, Waitr\u2019s app offers a different user experience. The\u00a0company\u00a0sends a team of photographers out to a restaurant that signs on to the platform. They\u00a0take photos of everything on the menu. \u201cYou order with your eyes,\u201d Meaux said. \u201cOur users tell us they go based on the pics more than the descriptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long-term, Waitr wants to make over the experience of dining\u00a0in restaurants, as well. \u201cNow that smartphones are ubiquitous, it makes sense that people should be able to send their order to the kitchen and to their servers through a mobile app, pay and leave when they\u2019re ready, not when a server comes by with a\u00a0notepad or the check,\u201d Meaux explained.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Waitr founder and CEO Chris Meaux.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Some other companies like E La Carte<\/a> and Ziosk<\/a>\u00a0enable ordering from the table with purpose-built tablets, but Waitr wants to avoid saddling restaurants with clutter and hardware that could break down, Meaux said.<\/p>\n

The company will use some of its funding for geographic expansion, hiring and marketing.\u00a0But it will also invest in building new\u00a0features to make\u00a0life easier for the people who work in restaurants. \u201cInstead of going up to your table and asking who has the grilled salmon, we can use indoor GPS and precise location to tell you exactly where that dish\u00a0needs to go. And we can use artificial intelligence not just to route our drivers, but to help restaurants predict how\u00a0much traffic they can expect coming in the door, and what dishes are probably going to sell the\u00a0best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food delivery from restaurants and fast food chains racks up about $88 billion in sales<\/a> worldwide each year, representing a mere 4 percent of sales of restaurant food, according to a 2016 report from McKinsey. And industry researchers expect online food ordering to grow,\u00a0including beyond cities.<\/p>\n

Waitr faces competition from Groupon-owned OrderUp<\/a>, and other food delivery apps\u00a0that have the resources to expand beyond big cities, from UberEATS<\/a> to Amazon Prime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Waitr<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Food delivery startups abound in the U.S., but few of them deliver to customers in second cities and smaller towns. From early pioneers like Grubhub to newer services like DoorDash, food delivery businesses have tended to focus on\u00a0urban areas with a high concentration of restaurants and people who frequently\u00a0order takeout. Now, New Orleans Saints Quarterback, philanthropist and angel… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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