Food Delivery Safety for Restaurants

These days, the question most operators are asking isn't whether they should add delivery, but how they can safely (and profitably) add off-premise meals to their offerings. Food delivery may not be the right option for every business – curbside pick-up and carryout meals are also popular ways to get your food into customers' homes – but it is one way to expand your audience and increase your potential earnings without having to add more seating.

Adding delivery creates a new potential revenue stream that doesn't have the same overhead associated with keeping a dining room running – for example, with delivery, your customers probably won't expect you to sanitize their dining table afterwards, so that's one job you're not paying labor for. You also won't be paying to cool the dining room, add new tables and chairs, or clean up after each customer. However, delivery requires you to expand other portions of your business to ensure prompt and safe delivery practices.

Who Needs Delivery?

Not every restaurant operator will want to add delivery. Not only is there significant cost associated with starting delivery, the quality of food can vary wildly between delivery and dine-in options. Many operators feel that the quality of their food would be compromised too much if it couldn't be served immediately – and not every type of food does well inside a to-go box for an extended amount of time. These operators prefer not to offer delivery, even knowing it might cost them money, because they won't be able to serve food they're happy with. After all, a poor delivery experience can create an equally poor impression of your business and lead customers to avoid you even when they're looking to dine in.

In-house or third-party delivery?

Third-party delivery services, such as Grubhub, UberEats, and DoorDash, can take a lot of the work out of delivering food. They're becoming increasingly popular, though there are drawbacks to be aware of. Like any company, they conduct business to turn a profit – profit that could potentially be yours. You'll sacrifice some of the income from your delivery sales in exchange for not having to pay to maintain a delivery service. The cost will fluctuate depending on which service you’re using and may cut too deeply into your operating margin¹ to be worthwhile.

If you're only delivering a few meals a day, it may not be worth the cost to maintain a car, delivery insurance, and drivers. On the other hand, if delivery is going to be a big part of your business, it may be worthwhile to invest in all the costs of delivery and reap the associated rewards.

The other main concern when choosing between self-delivery and third-party delivery is whether or not you trust a third party to maintain the quality of your food. If the delivery takes too long, or the food isn't handled properly, the resulting product may not be something you want your guests to associate with your brand.

Our interview with an operator offering in-house restaurant delivery includes an in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of adding delivery to your business.

How to Deliver Food Safely

Whether you contract out to a third party or handle food delivery yourself, you need to ensure that your food is kept safe until it reaches your customers. Proper food safety is a foundational aspect of any foodservice establishment, and this extends to food safety for delivered meals. You may be accustomed to maintaining this safety in a dine-in operation, but delivery provides new challenges.

Adding delivery to your foodservice establishment can be expensive and difficult, which deters many operators from pursuing this potential source of revenue. Safe food delivery can require a significant investment in time and money, as well as ongoing labor and maintenance costs.

First, you'll need food warming equipment to keep food at safe temperatures between being cooking and being picked up for delivery, such as heat lamps or hot holding cabinets.

Second, you'll need to create a designated holding area if you don't already have one, where food can safely wait to be picked up for delivery.

Third, you'll need to determine which foods can go through safe delivery practices and still meet customers' expectations.

Fourth, add equipment to keep your food warm between your restaurant and the customer's front door, such as insulated food carriers.

Lastly, you'll need to stock up on disposable delivery containers, determined by the style of food you'll be delivering.

No matter how well you prepare, there will be unexpected delays in getting your food to the customer. The delivery driver may get stuck in traffic, the food might be made too early, or the third-party operator could put your orders last, but you should expect some form of delay in getting your food to the customer. While your food may be safe unheated for half an hour, if your delivery driver gets delayed and it takes an extra 45 minutes to get the food to the customer, is it still safe? Is it still good? If the food has been waiting 30 minutes to be picked up, and it's going to take 30 more to reach the customer, can it go out or should you remake it?

For safe food delivery, you'll need to consider:

Adding a holding area for food waiting to be delivered

Implementing temperature monitoring protocols

Buying holding cabinets or heat lamps to maintain safe temps

Putting an employee in charge of delivery orders

Establishing maximum holding times

Creating a delivery menu

Using insulated food carriers

Establish your food delivery safety timeframe

Before you try delivering in any capacity, you need to know exactly how long your food will maintain its appeal and safety. Food held above 140 degrees Fahrenheit is considered safe, but your food will likely dip below this temperature between your kitchen and the customer unless you intervene. Holding equipment an help, but not all foods withstand continuous holding heat well. Create a policy that'll determine how long food can wait in holding before it's taken out for delivery and a program to ensure food doesn't get passed over.

Safety Steps for Food Delivery

It's up to you to keep your food safe between your kitchen and your customers, which you can do in a few ways:

Ensure the food is held safely until the delivery person is ready. We carry various products to help you do this, from hot holding cabinets to heat lamps. A hot holding area will prevent bacteria from growing in your food until the food is packed for delivery.

Establish a maximum permissible travel time. Distance is one way to limit delivery – only within 20 miles, for example – but 20 miles is very different in a crowded city than a rural town. Ensure that you only sell food to customers who'll receive it in a safe timeframe.

Put someone in charge of delivery. Restaurants are busy, and food sitting on a counter, waiting for GrubHub to pick it up, isn't going to be nearly as demanding as a customer. Someone needs to be in charge of making sure the food is delivered in a timely manner – and that the food is thrown away if it isn't.

Institute tamper-proofing measures. Especially if you're using third-party services, you lose control of the food when it leaves your establishment. Consider taping your to-go containers shut before they leave your establishment or sealing the carry-out bags. That way your customer can be confident that nothing has contaminated their food between your kitchen and their dinner table.

Resources

Why Restaurants are Ditching Third Party Delivery Services. Mishra, Sonal. Medium. Accessed July 2021.