11 April 23 - 29, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Eating Their Lunch Our love of delivery apps and cheap meals is pounding small restaurants. Two Dallas owners are making it work. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS O n a recent evening, as the sun was setting and the day was winding down for most, a worker at a local Thai restaurant bounced between cashier, prep cook, server and busser. Only two people were working in the restaurant; the second was back in the kitchen. Things were humming along, though. Green curry and tom kah soup steamed out of the kitchen. It’s the kind of local gem that a neighborhood is lucky to have. A mix of couples and college students keeps it busy. All is well in the restaurant, then a delivery driver swings the door open. His head is down, looking at his phone. A greeting from the server is ignored. His speakerphone is on full blast, and someone on the other end is talking loudly. Or maybe it’s a video. He slices through the dining room, goes to the counter, then walks out one minute later with two white plastic bags stuffed with pork dumplings, pad see ew, and, likely, most of the profit margins from the order. We’ve already reported on how local, independent res- taurants are being affected by the rent cliff — five-year leases ending amid soaring real estate prices. We’ve writ- ten about the rising costs of everything, including choco- late, beef and takeout supplies. And since everything costs more — namely, gas — there’s pressure on wages. Fresh economic reports don’t offer much hope. The infla- tion rate surged to 3.3% in March. “Inflation was already higher than comfortable, and that discomfort can easily turn to pain as price levels and price growth are stoked in the cate- gories we all feel the most: gas and groceries,” wrote Anna Helhoski of NerdWallet after the new number came out. This applies to small restaurants, too. Since the pan- demic, many have upped their takeout and delivery game, propped up by platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats. But takeout and delivery are added expenses: packaging, labor to handle orders, not to mention the bite third-party platforms take out of each meal. For some, it’s a lose-lose situation. Others are taking their bite back. DoorDash Math A whopping 903 million orders were placed through DoorDash in 2025. The company’s revenue grew 38% year over year in 2025 to $4 billion. DoorDash isn’t the only delivery service on the market, but it holds a slightly higher market share than Uber Eats. Clearly, Amer- ica is hooked on food delivery. Almost half of all adults (47%) say they pick up takeout from restaurants at least once a week, according to a report by The National Restaurant Association. More than a third (37%) get delivery once a week. With all those people and all that money flowing through those pipes, being on a delivery platform is essential for restaurants. But it’s not all easy money for those nachos at your door. Case in Point: A Sandwich. N ew York Sub was a long-standing Park Cities sub shop that originally opened in 1976. Chef Andrew Kelley bought the spot in 2016. He recently closed the original location because he couldn’t agree on a lease with a new landlord (see rent cliff). While working on get- ting a new space near Love Field, he’s set up shop in a ghost kitchen with no dining room, relying solely on delivery apps. “It’s been very difficult with DoorDash and Uber Eats,” Kelley says of this new setup. “Everybody wants buy-one- get-one-free offers or the $12 lunchbox, which is very popu- lar on DoorDash. Unfortunately, after DoorDash takes its commission, and I sell an Italian sandwich with a bag of chips and a homemade cookie or a potato salad for $12, my take-home is less than 10. And that doesn’t include the cost of food, packaging and labor.” So just don’t do promos, right? “Then you’re just not as busy, and unfortunately, we’ve had to let all of our staff go and just do it with my wife,” Kelley says. That tracks. Ninety percent of diners who responded to that National Restaurant Association survey said they used limited-time, app-only offers; that’s how most people choose where to order from. The same number, 90%, said they would order a greater variety of dishes if the packaging were better. Offers and better packaging: that’s what the people want. That means that not only do restaurants need to cut prices, but they also need to coddle it for the trip over. Then, after that, the app takes up to 30% of the money. The big chains can absorb these things. That mom-and-pop down the street? “As long as we’re giving away free stuff, we’re busy, but it just doesn’t make any sense,” Kelley says . Welcome to Jack Perkins’ Clinic J ack Perkins is an absolute no-nonsense burger guy. His restaurant, Maple and Motor, is a stalwart in Dallas for great burgers; it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives over a decade ago. For folks wanting pickup or delivery, he offers four ordering options on his website: Order for Pickup (which he controls), Order Uber Eats, Order GrubHub or Order Postmates. You can also order through DoorDash. When dealing with apps and third-party platforms, Per- kins says it’s key to negotiate. “They come to you and say, ‘Hey, we want you to use this for delivery, and it’s 25%.’” Perkins counters with 14%, and they settle somewhere in the middle. “The second thing is, some of them try to negotiate that you have to have the same prices on their platform that you have in your restaurant. Well, we won’t do that,” he says matter-of-factly. “So, all we do is if we pay 20% [commission to the platform], we just build 20% into the app. So if my burger is $10 ... it’s $12 on DoorDash,” He points out that he actually wins this way be- cause the platform covers his credit card fees, saving him 3.5%. DoorDash addresses this issue on its website, writing that it doesn’t require restaurants to set the same price. “Restau- rants can continue to make their own delivery menu pricing decisions and assess the tradeoffs between volume and unit margins.” In another paragraph, it adds that it “encourages consistent prices.” Then, a few lines down, it emphasizes that menu pricing is one factor among many in achieving a good ranking. And therein lies the catch. So, the apps aren’t explicitly telling restaurants to keep their prices the same, but if they want to rank well, they might want to consider it. The other option is for restaurants to maintain parity by raising the in-house price to match the app. But sticking it to the dine-in customers to cover delivery costs isn’t good business. Then there is the issue of promos, like Kelley’s $12 sand- wich deal. An article in Restaurant Business titled Nathan Hunsinger | CITY OF ATE | t Dish >> p12 Chef Nikky Phinyawatana of Asian Mint says half their customers order to go, so they built an ordering platform. Nathan Hunsinger
