Arlington merchants achieved more than $50 million in DoorDash sales in 2023 as local businesses continue to adapt to changing consumer expectations.
Hundreds of Arlington restaurants now use third-party services to deliver meals to customers' homes, a spokesperson told ARLnow. In a market where convenience is increasingly valued, DoorDash and other third-party apps are helping Arlington restaurants diversify revenue and combat rising costs, said Erin Tucker Oluwole, co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week.
“They’re not just going to stay here; [third-party apps] “It's going to impact the types of restaurants and businesses and how they form,” she said.
At Queen Mother's Kitchen in Crystal City, half of its daily sales come from third-party orders and delivery services, chef and owner Locke Harper told ARLnow. The restaurant came to Arlington in December 2020, at a time when contactless delivery was taking off around the world due to the pandemic.
“We've seen it really spike and then just stay that way,” Harper said. “It's pretty stable. I think the world is getting used to it.”
A 2023 survey of its members by the Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Association found that more than a third of responding restaurants experienced a decline in sales and traffic last year, and 58% of restaurants experienced an increase in occupancy costs.
Apps like DoorDash and UberEats offer customers a way to access restaurant menus without leaving the house, and Tucker Oluwole believes they're “here and there to stay.”
“I think third-party apps will continue to be necessary,” she says, “as a bridge between them and the customer.”
DoorDash offers a mentorship program, “Accelerator for Local Restaurants,” that provides $5,000 grants, education, training and mentoring to help small restaurants in the DC area expand their revenue streams. Harper is currently a member of the program through his DC bar, Hill Prince.
He said he has seen customers appreciate the convenience that delivery apps offer, even if the food isn't as fresh as usual.
“I don't care if my fries are a little soggy because I get to sit here,” he said.
At the same time, Harper, who describes himself as a “customer experience guy,” said such a deal comes with “a lot of unknowns.” Price is also a factor in a “highly competitive business,” he said, and third-party services typically increase costs for consumers through additional fees.
“What's the customer experience after you hand over this bag?” he said. “The fact that you're ceding the customer experience to the driver, that's probably one of the things I really fought against early on.”
The demand for food delivery has raised safety concerns around the world as couriers, sometimes on bikes, scooters or mopeds, rush to drop off and pick up orders.
As a result, some cities, including nearby Washington, D.C., have taken steps to tighten speed limits and crack down on dangerous driving, The Associated Press reported in June.
Harper countered that DoorDash “works very hard to vet its drivers and make sure that people who don't play by the rules don't use our platform.”
Another concern is the prices restaurants and consumers pay to have food delivered.
“The share of consumers choosing third-party delivery services over direct delivery from restaurants is growing from 15% in 2020 to 21% by 2024, according to Technomic's 2024 Delivery & Takeout Consumer Trends Report,” CNBC reported last month. “Among consumers who said they have stopped ordering delivery, the report found that 41% cited high delivery fees as the reason, while 48% pointed to rising menu prices.”
Tucker Oluwole predicts that third-party apps will impact the restaurant industry in ways that go beyond how much people spend and what food is served, and she doesn't think “ghost kitchens,” or restaurants that only offer delivery services, will remain popular for long, instead favoring restaurants that offer both an in-person dining experience and an app option.
Tucker Oluwole predicted that third-party apps will likely continue to serve as a “testing ground, a model” for restaurant owners before they decide to open a brick-and-mortar location or sign a lease.