While third-party delivery companies are a contentious topic in the restaurant world, at least one chain has seen sales skyrocket while working with the providers.
Delivery sales for fast-casual chain BurgerFi have risen 60% since the beginning of the year for total sales of $10.9 million, soon-to-be new owner Opes Acquisition Corp. reported Monday.
The chain fulfilled more than 428,000 delivery orders between Jan. 1 and June 30, a 32% increase over last year.
Those orders came through DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates, as well as BurgerFi’s in-house app that connects to third-party drivers.
And BurgerFi’s delivery sales were increasing well before the coronavirus triggered widespread shutdowns in March. In January, delivery sales were up 41% compared to last year, and in February, they rose 30%, Opes said.
BurgerFi year-over-year delivery sales, 2020
Source: Opes Acquisition Corp.
The chain credited its own technology along with its third-party partnerships for driving sales.
“Through our investment in technology, we have been able to strategically anticipate and execute against the current industrywide changes,” BurgerFi President Charlie Guzzetta said in a statement. “This investment in technology, complemented by strong partnerships with third-party delivery services, has served BurgerFi well during the crisis and will help us continue on our path of redefining the way the world eats burgers.”
Opes, a special purposes acquisition company, or SPAC, agreed to acquire the tech-forward better-burger chain for $100 million at the end of June in a deal that will ultimately take BurgerFi public. The North Palm Beach, Fla.-based chain has 125 units and is in growth mode, with plans to open 15 restaurants this year.
Ghost kitchens are a part of BurgerFi’s strategy as well. The chain opened its first delivery-only kitchen last month in downtown Miami in partnership with ghost-kitchen operator Reef Kitchens.
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