SHOULD I CHARGE AN ONLINE ORDERING FEE?

Think Tank operators warn against making customers pay more for the convenience of digital orders.

daniel_bothman: Historically, we have been primarily a dine-in restaurant, with about 10% to 15% of sales being takeout and, prior to COVID-19, no online ordering or delivery. Now, in the age of COVID, our model has obviously changed, with a shift to 50%-plus takeout and the addition of online ordering through our POS system (not a third-party platform). I’m wondering if anyone is charging an online ordering fee, and why or why not? We do incur additional costs in monthly fees and “card not present” credit card rates. But we are not typically a nickel-anddiming sort of place, and this feels kind of like a money grab. But there is a convenience factor in ordering online, and that has value for the customer. We’re just trying to survive COVID however we can.

Tom-CC: Look around and see what similar restaurants in your area are doing.

Daddio: I think you will find the benefits of online ordering will more than cover the extra costs without the need to charge a fee.

December: I wouldn’t do it. I haven’t seen any restaurants that are charging customers to order online. The only time I can remember paying an online ordering fee was when I was buying concert tickets and was charged a “convenience fee” to input all of the info myself. I want my customers to order online exclusively—that’s the dream—so I wouldn’t do anything to hinder that.

Rico: The third-party apps have been playing around with this idea. They are calling it a service charge, and customers are paying it. Personally, I wouldn’t do it.

durbancic: We offer coupons and discounts for online-only orders. I recommend that you train your customers to order online. They will spend more, and it will save you time on the phones. There’s also less of a chance for mistakes—they placed the order, so the responsibility is on them. For us, online orders accounted for 28% of our orders last month and 37% of our sales.

famousperry: With minimum wage increasing everywhere, why would you charge anyone a fee for online ordering when it saves labor costs and is proven to create higher check averages?

A Leap Of Faith

Getting furloughed from their jobs didn’t turn out as badly as expected for San Diego chefs Brandon Sloan and Chris Gentile. After making pies at their apartment and selling them to neighbors and friends via Instagram, they quickly built a name for themselves—and a new brand called Pandemic Pizza. “Making pizzas is one of my favorite things to do, especially in a time of uncertainty,” Sloan told a TV station in San Diego. As the orders flooded in, the partners started donating $1 from every pizza sold to a local charity each week. And when Tom Tarantino, owner of RoVino The Foodery, a downtown market and deli, learned about their success, he offered them space to keep the business going. Pandemic Pizza opened on August 1 and has hired other furloughed cooks, created branded T-shirts, and attracted more than 4,100 Instagram fans with mouthwatering food photography. “The same day Brandon found out he was furloughed from work was the day we created the Instagram handle,” the partners explain on their website. “The name Pandemic Pizza might be catchy, but it was meant to signify the unprecedented state of the world. It was our way to show our dedication to [giving] back. Like many things in life, it was a leap of faith.”

Packing A Perfect Picnic Basket

Forget fried chicken and potato salad: Pizza can be the perfect picnic food with a little help from U.K. chain Pizza Pilgrims. The company, which has more than a dozen locations around London, made it easy for customers to pack a basket with pies this summer. Its pizza picnic kits came with a red gingham blanket, the customers’ favorite two pizzas, a cup of olives, a Nutella dessert pizza ring, and a choice of alcoholic or soft drinks, plus recyclable cutlery to prevent plastic waste. Pizza Pilgrims even provided its picnicking guests with access to the company’s Spotify playlist for some mood music. The chain also invited customers to share pics of their pizza picnic spreads on social media, with a prize going to the most inventive photo.

THE FIRST JEWISH DELI POP-UP?

Edith’s Eatery & Grocery, a new concept hosted through October at Paulie Gee’s original location in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, might be the first Jewish deli pop-up in history. Conceived by chef Elyssa Heller, Edith’s pays tribute to Heller’s great-aunt, who ran a traditional Jewish deli in Brooklyn during the 1950s. Heller and pastry chef Caroline Schiff collaborated on the menu, creating fare guaranteed to make you plotz, especially the wood-fired bagels and salted caramel challah knots, as well as Edith’s BECL, a bacon, egg and cheese latke. Heller took inspiration from her great-aunt’s recipes, which were scribbled on everything from note cards to napkins and paper plates. “Her whitefish inspired our smoked trout recipe and, hopefully, if we are able to offer takeout-friendly versions of her recipes, we can add her noodle kugel, blintz soufflé, rugelach à la Edith, and her famous cabbage soup,” Heller told community news website Greenpointers.

DETROIT-STYLE MEETS FILIPINO INFLUENCE IN TORONTO

Don’t let the Detroit-style trappings fool you: The pizzas served up by Toronto pop-up Pabalos Island Pies are more Filipino than Motor City— and might just qualify as a brand-new style entirely. Located in the back of a Dundas Street eatery called Wallflower, Pabalos’ tropically themed pizzas were invented by best pals Sean Santos, Eric Tigley and Chuck Ortiz. “Our dough is a little bit different,” Santos told TRNTO.com. “We add rice flour to it to give it a bit of a chew. But we still get the crispy edges and the crispy bottom that are synonymous with Detroit-style pizzas.” Their weekly pop-ups offer three staple pies packed with island flavors, including a signature sauce that incorporates chili, garlic, lemongrass, roasted onions and a Filipino condiment called banana ketchup. The vegetarian Lola Pie features dollops of coconut cream and Thai basil, while the Bespren Longanizza Sausage Pie comes topped with sweet-garlicky longanisa sausage, a fried egg and cheese. The Tinapa Papa, meanwhile, offers smoked sardines, roasted onions, cotija cheese, roasted garlic and a citrus dressing. Other pies on rotation include the OMG (which stands for Oh My Gulay), topped with roasted kabocha squash, coconut milk and shiitake mushrooms, and the Plantation Pie, which boasts pineapple chunks, shaved pork shoulder, roasted onions and fish-sauce caramel. Every pie goes out in a box featuring one of Tigley’s own freehand illustrations, which might range from a sketch of a Care Bear to Optimus Prime.