Uber Eats Adds Nationwide Shipping from Famous Restaurants in New York, L.A., Miami, and San Francisco
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At their core, restaurant delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash have a simple mission: People want food from restaurants; restaurants need someone to deliver it; and so these services fill that gap. But it's not always straightforward: Imagine you live in Los Angeles, but want a pizza from Di Fara in Brooklyn. No Uber driver is going to take that fare.
And yet, if there's a market, there's a way, and so platforms like Goldbelly popped up to fill this more long-distance void, handling nationwide delivery services for restaurants like John's Roast Pork in Philadelphia and celebrities like Martha Stewart. Probably unsurprisingly, DoorDash said, hey, restaurant delivery is our thing, and this past November, they added a nationwide delivery option, too. And now, not wanting to be left behind, Uber Eats is doing the same thing.
Today, Uber Eats announced their new nationwide shipping option which allows customers anywhere in the contiguous United States to order from 16 "beloved merchants" across four cities — with more cities coming soon.
The launch partners are Bludso's BBQ, Gotta Have S'More, Dreamy Creations, Western Bagel, Lala's Argentine Grill, Lette Macarons, and The Pie Hole, all from Los Angeles; Sarge's Deli, Juice Press, and Wafels & Dinges from New York City; Sergio's, George Stone Crab, Doggi's Arepa Bar, and Sabores Market from Miami; and La Fromagerie and Stirred, not Shaken from San Francisco.
The brand says using the nationwide option is easy: In the Uber Eats app, customers will see an option to "Get far-off cravings shipped." Tap to browse restaurants and make your selections, and then FedEx will handle the rest (including sending you the tracking info). An example from Pasta Sisters in Los Angeles getting sent to New York suggested the order would take five to seven days to arrive. Additionally, Uber touts the services as coming with "free shipping" — though the prices, generally, aren't cheap.
As for where the food comes from, an Uber spokesperson explained that the restaurants "package and ship the items themselves," while Uber Eats "provides a shipping label and postcard insert with all necessary instructions for the consumer."
"We're thrilled to help hungry consumers get anything by bringing the nation's best meals to their doorstep – directly within the Eats app," Luke Kelley-Chew, Uber's lead product manager, stated. "People travel from around the world to taste the restaurants of NYC, LA and Miami, so we're excited to make these beloved restaurants accessible to the entire country. We're looking forward to expanding to additional cities soon, so eaters can enjoy more of their favorites and merchant partners can reach new consumers."
