9 ms·

hmmmm.... I wonder if Uber eats can do what AirBnb did to the hotel business by allowing home chefs-after-6pm to take low risk experiments and launch micro Uber

hmmmm.... I wonder if Uber eats can do what AirBnb did to the hotel business by allowing home chefs-after-6pm to take low risk experiments and launch micro Uber only restaurants from their home kitchen or a common kitchen (managed by Uber eats to deal with sanitation challenges).

stephengillie 8y ago
It would have to be a common kitchen, and they would need everyone to pass a food handler's class. Given Uber's reputation for bucking regulation, I would be doubly-hesitant to trust meals from their kitchen.
zby 8y ago
Sounds risky. Not that uber drivers are riskless - but food can be spoiled in less obvious ways than driving.
extrapickles 8y ago
It would have to be from a commercial kitchen to pass health regulations in most places. There are a few restaurants than share kitchens with the one next door, and I would not be surprised if they had a virtual restaurant or two for delivery only. No reason that the kitchens that food trucks use can’t support this as I suspect they dont have much demand for space around 5pm.
- dawnerd 8y ago
  In Portland damn near every food cart is on some delivery platform. It’s actually made ordering from some of my favorite spots almost impossible in person since their order volume is just too high.
- Forge36 8y ago
  I agree with your point on kitchen sharing, but I'm wondering if we sharing an incorre assumption: should we expect that the laws will be followed? Policing unlicensed taxis _should_ have prevented Uber from succeeding. I recall early Uber being a considered "ride-sharing" in attempt to avoid this problem. How will unlicensed restaurants be enforced? Will people simply call the practice food-sharing or splitting-meals? Start from the same model: two friends living across the city but one didn't cook, the other makes large meals. Uber meals is just a delivery service. Combine with money transfer app: it's not a restaurant, is a group of friends pitching in for a good meal. Uber successfully managed to get driver's to assume the risk when running unlicensed taxis. It wouldn't surprise me if they could reimagine that success here. The biggest hurdle I foresee: keeping the branding, and scale small enough to fly under the radar until it's well established
  - petra 8y ago
    If you sell food without a license, in some states you could go in jail. So it's pretty different from getting a fine which UBER pays.
  - extrapickles 8y ago
    There are a few places that stay under the radar, but generally they don’t heavily promote the food side of the “experience”, and aim their businesses at non-locals who would be less likely to report them if they are not perfectly happy. Another problem is that health laws are generally stronger and better enforced than taxi law. See [0] for the definition of a Food Establishment for Washington State. Also there are generally tip lines for reporting restaurants and it only takes 1 person to have a bad experience to shut down a location. [0]: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-215-01115 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-215-01115
  - prostoalex 8y ago
    > How will unlicensed restaurants be enforced? One story about a dead cockroach or rat feces making into a meal will let market forces take care of it. The story doesn’t even have to be true.
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      One story about a dead cockroach or rat feces making into a meal will let market forces take care of it. The story doesn’t even have to be true. On the other hand, it's a virtual restaurant. So all you have to do is pay some kid on Fivrr five bucks for a new logo with a different name, and you're back in business!
esotericn 8y ago
Individuals are not allowed to opt out of commercial food safety in most advanced economies. It could be done using a decentralized platform, but any registered company attempting that sort of business model wouldn't last very long.
- acover 8y ago
  Individuals weren't allowed to run unlicensed hotels or operate unlicensed taxis. I've never gotten sick from home cooking but have from restaurants. I always hear horror stories about the conditions of restaurants. Does anyone know why the risk rate of food production in a home kitchen thought to be higher? Can that be mitigated somehow?
  - kevin_b_er 8y ago
    Your "home cooking" wasn't required to make profit. This perverts the incentive from "good food" to "profit". Also your home cooking has a reputation issue. Uber Eats will not have a reputation issue. Any given "restaurant" can be a facade easily recycled into a new brand name. Any problems Uber can pawn off as a problem with that restaurant and not a fundamental problem of Uber operating above the law and not having safety regulations on its "independent contractors". As Uber has repeatedly shown a disregard for laws, we can expect it will continue to show a similar disdain for safety, including food safety.
  - jaequery 8y ago
    I guess there too many variables. But most important is. Depends on the cleanliness of the home and willingness of the chef to properly handle food
  - crazygringo 8y ago
    > I've never gotten sick from home cooking Well then you and your family and friends happen to follow good hygiene standards... but plenty of people don't, and are even more incentivized not to if there's a buck or two in it. ("I think I can still use this meat..." "I'll just wash off this mold...") I don't know why you'd trust random strangers cooking out of their homes with zero food safety training whom you haven't personally vetted at all. It's not to say commercial kitchens are perfect, but there are verifiable processes in place to try to hold them to certain standards and ultimately shut them down if they don't, which simply aren't scalable to apply to home kitchens.
disappearance 8y ago
I think Deliveroo Editions use commercial kitchens from temporary shipping containers, dropped in 'dead space', out of hours car/ industrial parks. Ah, from 2017: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-dark-kitchens-pop-up-feeding-the-city-london?CMP=share_btn_link https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-d...

stephengillie 8y ago

It would have to be a common kitchen, and they would need everyone to pass a food handler's class. Given Uber's reputation for bucking regulation, I would be doubly-hesitant to trust meals from their kitchen.

zby 8y ago

Sounds risky. Not that uber drivers are riskless - but food can be spoiled in less obvious ways than driving.

extrapickles 8y ago

It would have to be from a commercial kitchen to pass health regulations in most places. There are a few restaurants than share kitchens with the one next door, and I would not be surprised if they had a virtual restaurant or two for delivery only. No reason that the kitchens that food trucks use can’t support this as I suspect they dont have much demand for space around 5pm.

dawnerd 8y ago
In Portland damn near every food cart is on some delivery platform. It’s actually made ordering from some of my favorite spots almost impossible in person since their order volume is just too high.
Forge36 8y ago
I agree with your point on kitchen sharing, but I'm wondering if we sharing an incorre assumption: should we expect that the laws will be followed? Policing unlicensed taxis _should_ have prevented Uber from succeeding. I recall early Uber being a considered "ride-sharing" in attempt to avoid this problem. How will unlicensed restaurants be enforced? Will people simply call the practice food-sharing or splitting-meals? Start from the same model: two friends living across the city but one didn't cook, the other makes large meals. Uber meals is just a delivery service. Combine with money transfer app: it's not a restaurant, is a group of friends pitching in for a good meal. Uber successfully managed to get driver's to assume the risk when running unlicensed taxis. It wouldn't surprise me if they could reimagine that success here. The biggest hurdle I foresee: keeping the branding, and scale small enough to fly under the radar until it's well established
- petra 8y ago
  If you sell food without a license, in some states you could go in jail. So it's pretty different from getting a fine which UBER pays.
- extrapickles 8y ago
  There are a few places that stay under the radar, but generally they don’t heavily promote the food side of the “experience”, and aim their businesses at non-locals who would be less likely to report them if they are not perfectly happy. Another problem is that health laws are generally stronger and better enforced than taxi law. See [0] for the definition of a Food Establishment for Washington State. Also there are generally tip lines for reporting restaurants and it only takes 1 person to have a bad experience to shut down a location. [0]: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-215-01115 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-215-01115
- prostoalex 8y ago
  > How will unlicensed restaurants be enforced? One story about a dead cockroach or rat feces making into a meal will let market forces take care of it. The story doesn’t even have to be true.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    One story about a dead cockroach or rat feces making into a meal will let market forces take care of it. The story doesn’t even have to be true. On the other hand, it's a virtual restaurant. So all you have to do is pay some kid on Fivrr five bucks for a new logo with a different name, and you're back in business!

esotericn 8y ago

Individuals are not allowed to opt out of commercial food safety in most advanced economies. It could be done using a decentralized platform, but any registered company attempting that sort of business model wouldn't last very long.

acover 8y ago
Individuals weren't allowed to run unlicensed hotels or operate unlicensed taxis. I've never gotten sick from home cooking but have from restaurants. I always hear horror stories about the conditions of restaurants. Does anyone know why the risk rate of food production in a home kitchen thought to be higher? Can that be mitigated somehow?
- kevin_b_er 8y ago
  Your "home cooking" wasn't required to make profit. This perverts the incentive from "good food" to "profit". Also your home cooking has a reputation issue. Uber Eats will not have a reputation issue. Any given "restaurant" can be a facade easily recycled into a new brand name. Any problems Uber can pawn off as a problem with that restaurant and not a fundamental problem of Uber operating above the law and not having safety regulations on its "independent contractors". As Uber has repeatedly shown a disregard for laws, we can expect it will continue to show a similar disdain for safety, including food safety.
- jaequery 8y ago
  I guess there too many variables. But most important is. Depends on the cleanliness of the home and willingness of the chef to properly handle food
- crazygringo 8y ago
  > I've never gotten sick from home cooking Well then you and your family and friends happen to follow good hygiene standards... but plenty of people don't, and are even more incentivized not to if there's a buck or two in it. ("I think I can still use this meat..." "I'll just wash off this mold...") I don't know why you'd trust random strangers cooking out of their homes with zero food safety training whom you haven't personally vetted at all. It's not to say commercial kitchens are perfect, but there are verifiable processes in place to try to hold them to certain standards and ultimately shut them down if they don't, which simply aren't scalable to apply to home kitchens.

disappearance 8y ago

I think Deliveroo Editions use commercial kitchens from temporary shipping containers, dropped in 'dead space', out of hours car/ industrial parks. Ah, from 2017: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-dark-kitchens-pop-up-feeding-the-city-london?CMP=share_btn_link https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/28/deliveroo-d...