With social distancing measures and lack of large festivals, the July Fourth weekend is going to look a little different this year, especially with Gov. Greg Abbot’s recent order to close bars across the state. However, a local startup is helping residents in the North Texas region get the party going at their backyard barbecues.
To kick off the launch of its new alcohol delivery service, Dallas-based ride hailing startup Alto is offering free booze deliveries from a selection curated by local boutique wine and spirit seller La Cave.
“It is summer and it is pool season, even if there's Covid, and what do people want more than fun summer cocktails fun summer drinks? People are having responsible, socially-distanced hangouts… we want to enable the fun we can while people are at home” Alex Halbarder, Alto’s chief customer officer, told NTX Inno. “We’ve been a really customer-experience focused brand since the very beginning. We’ve always said that that we are first and foremost the safest, but then the most consistent and the most personalized passenger experience. And when we think about delivery, we really wanted to bring those principals into the deliver aspect.”
Alto recently received its consumer delivery permit from the TABC to launch the alcohol delivery service. Like other delivery options the startup has created during the pandemic, as it has seen its core ride hailing business decline, through its Alto Market, the alcohol delivery service picked a local business that could create a curated experience for its customers, Halbarder said. And while it won’t be free after July 5, the startup plans to continue the service into the future.
Halbarder herself said she’s become a big fan of the Código 1530 Tequila Rosa Blanco and has already placed her weekend order for some Ranch Rider Spirits premade cocktails and pink tequila. Out of all the states, Texans have been consuming the most alcohol during the pandemic, according to a survey of Twitter and Google data.
It is also planning to look for local partners for a similar service as Alto expands into the Houston market this fall. The company recently expanded its territory to Fort Worth and other suburban parts of the Metroplex this January, after landing $6 million in funding in a round led by Road Ventures. As part of that funding, Alto is also planning to expand into California.
“It’s tough because there’s a lot of delivery options out there. I think the thing that Alto has always been able to do is help create really special experiences, and so whenever we think about… the thing I always go back to is, is this going to be a special experience, does this live up to the same experience that our rides did when we had a lot of rides?” Halbarder said. “We really pride ourselves on a different bar for our customers – no pun intended.”
While Alto has been offering limited alcohol deliveries through its marketplace, usually as a compliment to its meal deliveries, the new service is part of larger pivots that have been taking place within the company. In addition to stepped up safety measures like employee temperature checks, installing air filters in vehicles and mask requirements, Alto has been doing food deliveries with menus selected by local restaurants and partnering with other local startups like pharmaceutical delivery startup Scripx and garden kit delivery company Gardenuity to help deliver those businesses’ products. The moves were largely due to a 90% drop in ridership in March. And though Alto saw a slight uptick in rides as businesses began reopening, that has begun to decline again as cases in the region spike and lockdown orders are tightened.
Alto launched in Dallas in February 2018. And with its company-owned fleet of cars, W-2 employees and safety features, the company is hoping to find a different, more targeted part of the rideshare ecosystem. Currently, Alto services more than 900 square-miles in the Metroplex and has about 150 full- and part-time drivers.
“Depending on how long the world is in this different state, delivery is not going to be going away and it will probably be heightened for a while, and we're really excited to get to play in that space,” Halbarder said.
