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March 25, 2016
New York chef/entrepreneur David Chang (Momofuku) is tapping into a hot trend with his newest and potentially revolutionary project, a delivery-only concept he’s calling “Ando.” This time around he is partnering, according to Eater, with chef J.J. Basil (an alum of the acclaimed wd-50) and Expa, a San Francisco–based startup company launched by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
Ando will deliver items like chicken cheesesteaks, doughnuts and tofu bowls. Customers will order through an Ando app that is currently in development.
Interestingly, although Chang is an investor in another meal-delivery startup company, Maple, which will operate in Manhattan, the Ando team has contracted with UberRush to do the actual delivering. Maple is a year-old meal delivery service in New York. It offers $12 lunches and $15 dinners below 42nd Street in Manhattan, according to NRN.
All of the activity in the delivery segment of the restaurant business is not surprising. According to a recent report by NPD Group, delivery traffic—excluding pizza—is growing quickly. It’s up 33 percent since 2012, taking some of its share from traditional pizza delivery.
Still, there is room for new growth in delivery. “Foodservice delivery options outside of pizza are still relatively small, with roughly six million delivery-related visits in the past year,” says the NPD report. “There is little doubt that the growth rate for categories outside of QSR pizza will continue on a strong growth path.” For operators, the appeal of delivery is easy to grasp: less labor, a smaller investment, and lower rent and other expenses.
Delivery services such as Eat24, Grub Hub, Seamless, UberEATS, and Amazon Prime will be integral to this growth. As these services continue to roll out nationally, NPD predicts that “off-premise foodservice will continue to outpace overall restaurant industry traffic growth over the next decade.”
Chang, known for his Momofuku Noodle Bar and other restaurants including Momofuku Nishi and Fuku, a fried chicken concept, told The New York Times that Ando is “sort of my dream restaurant. There’s no one to complain about the stools or backless chairs or the ambient noise.”
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