ChowNow's Launches Website to Educate Consumers About Third-Party Delivery

To help neighborhood restaurants remain competitive, ChowNow, an online ordering platform for local, independent restaurants, unveiled a new website, OrderBetter.com, aimed at educating consumers about the tactics of delivery-app businesses.

Many of these big third-party delivery apps take up to 40% of every order placed, and they, not the restaurant, own the customer data. That’s especially tough for local restaurants, where the average profit margin hovers at around 6%. Some restaurants actually lose money on orders placed through these apps.

ChowNow says its “Order Better” approach is designed to help local restaurants thrive. Highlights include:

• A flat monthly fee with 0 percent commission on all orders
• The local restaurant owns the customer data
• Branded mobile app and customized ordering for website
• Ability for customers to order via Instagram, Facebook and Google

ChowNow’s 11,000 restaurant partners have generated $1 billion in transactions via ChowNow, with virtually every dollar going to the restaurants’ bottom lines.

“A billion dollars in orders directly benefiting local restaurants is huge — especially to independently-owned operations like ours,” said Nate Pollak, owner of The American GrilledCheese Kitchen, with locations in San Francisco and Fort Myers, Fla.. “That’s our lifeblood, and ChowNow is a true partner in helping restaurants like ours thrive.”

More Funding

ChowNow also announced the closing of its Series C funding round, raising $21 million. Participants included growth-equity firms 3L Capital and Catalyst Investors. ChowNow has raised a total of $60 million, including previous rounds from Steadfast Capital, Upfront Ventures, and Bonfire Ventures. With this latest round, 3L Capital co-founder and managing director Shawn Colo joins the ChowNow Board of Directors.

ChowNow powers branded online ordering systems for 11,000+ independent restaurants across the US and Canada — via restaurants’ own websites, on Facebook and Google, through ChowNow-created apps, and via ChowNow’s website — while also providing their restaurant partners key customer insights and marketing support. ChowNow does this for a  monthly fee, without the predatory commissions charged by third-party ordering apps.