DoorDash, the food delivery service, is teaming with the Related Ross real estate firm to speed the delivery of food within West Palm Beach, starting with CityPlace.
The venture marks the first time DoorDash has partnered with a real estate firm to provide a special delivery service for customers.
The move advances DoorDash’s presence in downtown at a time when competition is fierce in the food delivery business. The arrangement also is a way for Related Ross to add more perks to people who live, work or visit CityPlace.
The service will be available to office tenants in Related Ross office towers; residents in The Laurel, an ultra-luxury apartment complex; workers at CityPlace retail shops; and guests visiting CityPlace. The mixed-use complex was built by real estate mogul Stephen Ross, chairman of Related Ross.
Eventually, the service will expand to other Related Ross properties, including several condominium towers being built or planned along Flagler Drive.
The partnership means that people ordering food from restaurants via DoorDash can have their food delivered to their office or their apartment by a designated Related Ross worker. The arrangement does away with the need to meet a delivery driver in a building lobby.
The partnership means meals arrive to customers faster, said Webber Hudson, Related Ross executive vice president of retail leasing. “You don’t have to get the doorman to ring you up,” Hudson said.
The arrangement comes with a special deal for selected customers who want to use DashPass. DashPass typically costs $9.99 per month for unlimited food deliveries.
But Related is making 2,000 of these passes available for free for a year to its office and retail tenants, as well as residents of The Laurel apartment tower.
Could the DoorDash deal help with traffic tie-ups?
In addition to speeding food delivery, Hudson said the arrangement also could minimize traffic problems.
Sometimes DoorDash delivery drivers temporarily park in the street to pick-up or deliver items, causing the roadways to quickly become clogged. But at CityPlace, Related Ross is creating space in the loading docks of buildings for DoorDash drivers.
“Dashers get a dedicated DoorDash Pickup Zone that makes their work easier, and merchants get an additional engine to reach customers,” Andreina Chacin, General Manager of the Southeast at DoorDash, said in a statement.
There’s no telling how many people will wind up using the augmented DoorDash delivery service, but Hudson said Related Ross expected it could hundreds of visits a month, to start.
Hudson said Related Ross will closely monitor traffic issues, a major issue in the city’s booming downtown core.
“We’re going to watch this thing like instruments on an airplane,” Hudson said.
Eventually, the service will be offered to tenants at the 10 and 15 CityPlace office towers, now under construction. Related Ross expects up to 5,000 people could work in the high-rise buildings.
DoorDash could gain customers in buzzy West Palm Beach dining scene
The partnership helps DoorDash by giving it inroads in the city’s growing dining scene.
Like its competitor, UberEats, DoorDash is partnering with a restaurant reservation system to allow customers to snare seats at restaurants, in addition to ordering delivery food from them. These restaurants don’t need to be only at CityPlace, either. So far the venues include Mary Lou’s, Leila, Smoke & Maple, Kyma, and Loco Taqueria.
DoorDash also is expanding its reach by adding more restaurants to its roster, including Sicilian Oven, West Palm Cowboy Club and Pura Vida. Other retailers, including local grocers and florists, also are being added to the DoorDash system.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: DoorDash, Related Ross team on new meal delivery service | Exclusive
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
