Settling in

Some odds, some ends, some reassurance

Weeks devoid of big news are challenging for Expedite. But really they mean that restaurant tech is settling into a more predictable existence.

I’ve already written plenty about the future of large, third-party restaurant delivery companies that seems to be mostly devoid of restaurant deals. Now it seems that most of the industry’s growth is happening in verticals outside of restaurants, even though ripples from the past two years continue to affect them.

So this week is “news of the not-surprising variety,” a strangely ho-hum week for an industry that’s spent the last two years upside down and metaphorically tumbling down a hill. 

Grubhub continues its fade into the background

Grubhub’s parent company Just Eat Takeaway is taking the company off the public market in the U.S. Before JET acquired Grubhub last year, shares of the Chicago-based delivery company were listed on the NYSE. Post-acquisition, JET listed U.S. shares of its company on the Nasdaq exchange. 

The move comes after months of investor pressure for JET to dump Grubhub, which, by some measures, is a low-performer compared to business in JET’s other markets. 

In another blow to the company, the city of Chicago raised new allegations against Grubhub. An amended complaint filed six months after city officials filed its lawsuit alleges Grubhub used deceptive marketing and pricing practices to mislead consumers and harm local restaurants. In August, when the original suit was filed, a Grubhub representative said that restaurants participating in certain promotional programs knew about the programs’ specifics. 

The amended complaint was announced via press release nearly a month after it was filed. A Grubhub spokesperson told Eater Chicago: “As further demonstrated by this curiously-timed news release, Mayor Lightfoot’s lawsuit is about publicity—not law—and does nothing to support Chicago’s restaurants. Her allegations remain categorically wrong, as we articulated in great detail in our response to the court last month.”

But lots of officials are interested in third-party delivery right now.