Love lobster rolls, but don’t want to make the hike down to Legal Sea Foods to snag one? Need to pick up dry cleaning, but won’t have time to make it over to your neighborhood spot before sundown? San Francisco-founded Postmates can now help, thanks to the on-demand 24/7 delivery startup’s Wednesday launch in Boston.
The app is available for iOS and Android, and will enable you to flip through thousands of restaurant menus and stores in the city, add items to your list instantly and then watch Postmates rated, well, “postmate” deliver them by bike or car to your location in under an hour.
You name the item or service, Postmates can probably deliver it. The company states it offers delivery service from “any restaurant or store – including things like takeout, beer/wine, prescriptions, groceries, diapers, dry cleaning, electronics, cosmetics, etc.”
The Uber for delivery startup will compete directly with two other Boston-based startups: Grocery delivery service Instacart and alcohol delivery app Drizly.
Postmates typically charges a fee for delivery based on distance between the store or restaurant and drop-off, and takes a nine percent “service fee” cut on the items being delivered.
The California startup’s original delivery zone will span Cambridge, Downtown Boston, the Back Bay, North End, South End and South Boston. Postmates stated that it plans on expanding to other local neighborhoods soon after the initial launch.
But it gets even better. The company is giving away fresh and, most importantly, free lobster rolls from Yankee Lobster Co. on Wednesday. All you need to do is download the app after 11 a.m., and clock on the special promotion. Boom – a lobster roll will show up at your office, completely gratuit.
