Sudbury restaurants reap profits as competition in online delivery heats up

As some Sudbury restaurants beam over increased profits, another food delivery service is preparing to enter the market. 

Stelios Constantinou, the owner of Vespa Street Kitchen on Riverside Drive, estimates that delivery now accounts for 18 to 20 per cent of his business. He says he's never really been able to offer delivery before he started using SkipTheDishes. 

"It's one thing off your head, one thing you don't have to worry [about]. They take care of the drivers," said Constantinou.

Though it varies, he says he gets about 20 online orders a day. 

Currently, the only multi-restaurant ordering option in Sudbury is SkipTheDishes. Some major restaurant chains like Domino's Pizza have their own app. 

Another app-based delivery service, DoorDash, will launch in Sudbury on Oct. 2, according to a notification on its app. The Sudbury-specific web page is currently taking delivery driver applications and a downtown office space contains shelves full of DoorDash branded delivery bags.

At one point Uber Eats had a presence in Sudbury. Constantinou says that he had a relationship with them, but they haven't returned his phone calls for months. The Uber Eats app currently shows no restaurants available in Sudbury. 

Information provided to the CBC from SkipTheDishes showed that the largest order so far this year in Sudbury was $330 for bacon cheeseburgers and fries. The smallest order was 75 cents for a sweet and sour sauce. Delivery costs $3.75.

Overtime Bar and Grill on Notre Dame Avenue is another local restaurant that has benefited from using the delivery app.  

Owner Attilio Langella says that he's been able to offer kitchen staff more hours with the influx of night-time orders coming in. He's seen a 15 per cent increase in his business since starting to offer delivery. 

"Sometimes they'll just order a piece of cheesecake and a can of Pepsi," he said.