How new food delivery options benefit restaurants

Remember when pizza delivery cars were likely the only vehicles moving around the area with food stacked inside for home delivery?

Those days look to be over. A lot more people are driving around with a lot more food from a lot more places.

After talking to a driver for UberEats - the Uber ride-sharing service's option for restaurant food delivery from the places you may least expect delivery - it became pretty clear that a lot of people take advantage of this mobile-app service.

Locally, UberEats is delivering for places like McDonald's, Apple Villa, Abby's Breakfast & Lunch, Beef Shack, Munchie P's, Urban Counter, Taco Urbana, Panda Express, South of the Border, and Rosati's Pizza. There might be others added since I last looked at the app.

Another service called DoorDash sent notices out in the mail about its service, operating under the same premise in terms of ordering food from an app. DoorDash was touting delivery of food from Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, California Pizza Kitchen and Buona Beef.

It's a new world of vehicles full of food, but it's one in which these restaurants are finding a partner to handle some deliveries.

Sure, you are going to pay a little extra for delivery and a tip for the driver, but it comes in handy for spur-of-the-moment type stuff. And you're not going to hear too many restaurants complain about this new technology.

"We joined about six weeks ago and in less than two weeks had our initial investment back," said Rob Mondi, owner of Abby's Breakfast & Lunch in St. Charles. "It costs about $200 to purchase an iPad and they take a percentage fee with each delivery."

But it's been great for a place like Abby's because it brought on a different customer base, one that is more tech-savvy and inclined to order from an app for home delivery.

"On a few days, it actually accounted for up to 10 percent of our daily sales," Mondi said. "We had an office put in a large order and on another occasion, it was a factory warehouse's entire shift that wanted to try Abby's."

A commons area:

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of Streetscape's application to create the South Street Commons in Geneva as it moves toward the plan commission.

It would transform the area in which medical buildings currently stand at 1705 and 1725 South Street into 14 homes on small lots.

The existing structures and parking lots would make way for this development, which would include private alleys and 15 guest parking spaces.

Plus, the developer said a public sidewalk along South Street and Burgess Road would be part of the plan.

It's rather difficult to envision such a change at this spot, where we spent a number of years bringing our son to the office of pediatrician extraordinaire, the late Dr. Charles Hanson.

It's Third Tuesday:

How is it that you can attend a community supper event at the Geneva United Methodist Church for the better part of the last five or six years, and get the day wrong when mentioning it in this column?

It's because the brain likes to trick you on occasion when writing. Your fingers just type what the brain tells you to, even though the brain should know better.

As it is, the events at the church are called the Third Tuesday Suppers because, well, they are held on the third Tuesday of each month.

Not the First Tuesday as my fingers somehow typed last week.

Eye-catching calendar:

The Ecker Center for Mental Health in Elgin went for a new "look" in its recent fundraising efforts, and that look is well-known to many residents in this region.

For the first time, the center is selling a calendar to raise funds, this one a 2018 calendar showcasing many of the interesting and beautiful sights throughout the area.

The center is selling these calendars at $20 each, or two for $30, which may sound like a lot of money for a calendar, but you have to remember this is a donation for an important agency.

It highlights the work of different photographers in the area and gives us scenic views of our historic sites, forest preserves, interesting art and nature.

The calendar's last two pages serve as a guide for Ecker Center services. Those interested in purchasing a calendar can contact the center for more information at (847) 695-0484.

His fact-packed mind:

A few attendees at TriCity Family Service's 50th anniversary party last weekend mentioned that St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina seemed like he knew every mascot at every college during a discussion about colleges.

I told them Rogina is well-read on many topics, not the least of which is baseball trivia. Sports writers in the press box covering high school football games at St. Charles East could always count on Rogina, who served as the public address announcer during games, to deliver plenty of trivia questions between plays or during timeouts.

You know, stuff like how many games did Cy Young win during his pitching career?

You didn't think I'd leave without answering, did you? He won 511 games.

Great helpers:

The managers and employees at Kohl's who participate in the Kohl's Cares program by volunteering at various fundraising events deserve a shout-out.

They did it again at the aforementioned TriCity Family Services party, passing out appetizers and pouring the champagne for visitors for the 50th anniversary toast.

This sort of community connection does not go unnoticed by those who organize or attend these types of events.

dheun@sbcglobal.net