DoorDash teams up to open a restaurant in California

 DoorDash is no stranger to offering help to restaurants, but now it’s taking a direct stake in their success. The San Francisco Chronicle reports (via The Verge) that DoorDash is investing in Burma Bites, a spin-off restaurant of Oakland’s Burma Superstar that’s due to open October 28th. The team-up, a first for DoorDash, will unsurprisingly focus on delivery and takeout of items from Superstar.

It’s not certain how much money DoorDash is investing. Burma Bites was supposed to open in March, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening. DoorDash told The Verge it had been working on the alliance for a year.

The company is clear about the motivations. Regional partnerships leader Georgie Thomas said this was about “empowering restaurants” to help them reach more customers and generate money. In other words, DoorDash only thrives if there are restaurants around to serve customers. This also gives the restaurant an incentive to stay away from rival delivery services.

It doesn’t always get along with restaurants. On top of the fees it charges, there have been complaints that it stiffed drivers on tips and created unrealistic expectations by subsidizing some orders. This is still a big move, though, and it won’t be surprising if other services follow suit to both keep restaurants afloat and help them corner key markets.

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