KQED's Forum How Food Delivery Apps Are Changing the Way We Eat In – And Out
Mar 20, 2026
Tony Gemignani, pizza chef and restaurateur, shares hands-on operational tales with delivery platforms. Laurie Thomas, longtime San Francisco restaurateur and industry director, discusses policy and business pressures. Corey Mintz, food journalist and author, analyzes how apps reshaped restaurant models and consumer habits. They chat about fees, delivery’s effect on food identity, packaging waste, and changing ordering culture.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Platforms Monetize Visibility Not Just Delivery
- Apps monetized discoverability after fee caps by charging restaurants for placement and promotion on their platform.
- Corey Mintz explained platforms transitioned from delivering food to becoming where customers search, then charging marketing or promotion fees.
Decide If Delivery Fits Your Restaurant Model
- Restaurants should decide whether delivery is incremental revenue or core to the brand and adjust operations accordingly.
- Laurie Thomas urged parsing restaurant types: full service sees ~10–15% delivery, fast casual relies on 75–80% off-premise sales.
Delivery Drives Packaging Costs That Hit Margins
- Delivery creates major environmental costs from single-use packaging and compostable alternatives raise order costs significantly.
- Corey Mintz contrasted intent to use reusables with the reality that compostables add 10–20 cents per order—sometimes eroding profit margins.
