Food-delivery service Grubhub, one of Chicago's most prominent startups of the last two decades, announced a new partnership with The Hatchery to help give local restaurant entrepreneurs on the city's West Side tools to succeed.
The partnership will include a $300,000 donation to the nonprofit food-business incubator.
As part of Grubhub's commitment to The Hatchery, the company will sponsor a pitch competition and develop guidance for entrepreneurs to better utilize third-party delivery to grow their businesses. Grubhub will also provide support to The Hatchery's Sprouts Incubation Program.
"Many of the businesses we serve, especially those on the West Side of Chicago, are catering businesses, and many of them had to adapt their business model during the pandemic to focus on meal delivery, which was something new to them and new to us," Natalie Shmulik, The Hatchery's chief strategy and innovation officer, told Chicago Inno. "So this partnership with Grubhub allows them to bring tremendous expertise, and we're going to be able to tap into that expertise to better train the entrepreneurs to better understand how they can leverage third-party delivery and ensure that their business is profitable."
Shmulik said that utilizing third-party delivery is essential for young restaurant entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses.
"For these entrepreneurs, revenue is key. If they can gain exposure and gain access to new clientele and have a wider reach by using third-party delivery apps, that's a great opportunity for them," she said.
Liz Bosone, Grubhub's vice president of restaurant success, has seen firsthand how the app can be a great way for restaurants, especially new restaurants, to get its name out there.
For example, Taylor's Tacos, a pop-up taco catering business that just opened its first brick-and-mortar location on the city's West Side with the help of grant money received from the Grubhub Community Fund, couldn't have done so without the food-delivery service.
The taco shop, which seats 10 people, expects a big portion — 60% of its total business — to come from the Grubhub app. The business credits the delivery service with keeping it afloat during the pandemic as it sold taco kits through the app when it couldn't do pop-ups in person. Taylor's Tacos is a graduate of The Hatchery as well.
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The Hatchery looks to support entrepreneurs and ensure they are equipped to become profitable businesses by connecting with the right partners in the ecosystem.
"Our focus since opening has been how do we further support local-made and produced growth within the [consumer packaged goods] space," Shmulik said.
Shmulik said that the resources that will be provided through Grubhub, which includes guidance on financials, marketing and hiring strategies, will help address pain points that impact up and coming entrepreneurs.
"Sometimes you might be driving revenue and driving yourself into debt, and we want to make sure that we're equipping the entrepreneurs with the information they need so that they can identify the best model for their business," she added.
