Coronavirus crisis has decimated food service – and apps still probably won’t be enough to keep many small businesses alive
California restaurants were some of the first in the US to close in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus. And in the food service industry’s crisis, third-party delivery platforms have found great opportunity.
As businesses have been forced to close their dining rooms amid shelter-in-place orders, many have attempted a quick pivot to takeout and delivery. Without a physical presence in their customers’ lives, many restaurants’ immediate survival has come to depend on a digital one, shifting power and control from business owners to third-party technology companies that take large commission fees on every order. It has meant a boon for platforms such as UberEats and DoorDash, rare corporate winners in an accelerating unemployment crisis and recession that has decimated food service – though the apps probably still won’t be enough to keep many small businesses alive.
Related: 'I could be on the street': 100,000 jobs at risk as coronavirus pummels California restaurants
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