On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission, city attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and six state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against restaurant point of sale and payments company Toast. The suit accuses Toast of levying hidden, unauthorized, or unwanted fees and add-ons, failing to deliver on promised customer support, and making it difficult to cancel services. These allegations are, uh, bad — and they mirror complaints I’ve heard from some (but certainly not all) restaurants using Toast. Especially the customer service part, which an FTC release highlights:
“In reality, consumers have difficulty reaching anyone who can provide support or answer their questions at any time of day, let alone “24/7,” according to the complaint.”
In its written response, Toast says it strongly disagrees with the allegations and will vigorously defend itself. Also, it says:
“As previously disclosed in our last quarterly filing, Toast has been cooperating fully with the FTC’s review of this matter since mid-2025 and has engaged in good faith throughout, including efforts to reach a resolution short of litigation. The facts of the investigation show Toast’s commitment to providing innovative solutions to restaurants in a competitive market. The FTC disregarded the information we provided showing the extent to which our restaurant customers negotiate their contracts. We are prepared to defend our business and fight this unprecedented action through litigation.”
The FTC is also looking into variable pricing and compensation at food delivery companies.
Thursday was a big day for restaurant tech at the FTC, which also announced an investigation into so-called personalized pricing and compensation based on customer data at large corporations, including food delivery companies. (The investigation also involves nine airlines.)
While this is relatively normal stuff for, say, the airlines, the compensation bit is targeted squarely at gig-work companies like DoorDash that pay couriers, per the FTC, “based on opaque formulas. These companies may engage in personalized compensation based on their drivers’ personal data, such as their phone usage or acceptance history for past offers.” The order asks companies to provide documentation about its processes; companies have 45 days to respond. — FTC
OH, SPEAKING OF DOORDASH:
DoorDash bags Instacart
The rumors are true! DoorDash plans to buy Instacart for $17 billion. The deal will unite the country’s largest restaurant delivery platform and its largest grocery delivery platform.
I read in The Information that Research firm Bernstein estimated Tuesday that a combination of DoorDash and Instacart would account for 23% of all online grocery sales in the U.S.