BRONX TIMES R 4 EPORTER, JUNE 19-25, 2020 BTR
Councilman Gjonaj not in
favor of Grubhub acquisition
Humble, Texas/USA 01/01/2020: Grubhub
sign posted in the ground near some local
businesses in Humble, TX. Grubhub is an online
fast food delivery service that is becoming
increasingly popular in the US.
Photo via Getty Images
“Grubhub’s new corporate owners now
have a responsibility to change the
company’s predatory practices and improve
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BY JASON COHEN
Last week, the newly-minted Just
Eat Takaway.com, bought Grubhub.
com, making it the second largest
restaurant delivery company in the
United States.
For months, Councilman Mark
Gjonaj, chair of the small business
committee, fought to limit the powers
of third party apps. In May, he helped
pass a series of COVID-19 relief bills including
one that will cap delivery fees
at 15 percent, instead of the usual 30
percent.
Reggie Johnson, Gjonaj’s chief of
staff, said the councilman is worried
that Just Eat Takeaway.com will target
small businesses like Grubhub did and
try to run them into the ground. Gjonaj
and other legislators are hoping to
make these bills permanent when the
state of emergency ends, but nothing is
set in stone.
Johnson said this transaction
shocked everyone and most people
were under the impression Uber was
going to acquire Grubhub.
“There have been some real lapses
on how they carried this out,” Johnson
said. “Grubhub has not always been
the best corporate citizen.”
On June 10, Just Eat Takeaway.
com and Grubhub Inc. entered into an
agreement whereby the company is
to acquire 100 percent of the shares of
Grubhub in an all-stock transaction to
create the world’s largest online food
delivery company outside of China.
Grubhub is a leading online and
mobile food-ordering and delivery
marketplace in the U.S., with nearly
300,000 restaurants across 4,000 cities.
Its portfolio of brands includes Grubhub,
Seamless, LevelUp, AllMenus and
MenuPages.
Executive director of the NYC Hospitality
Alliance, Andrew Rigie, hopes
Just Eat Takeaway.com takes Grubhub
in a different direction.
“Assuming Just Eat did its due diligence,
they know they paid billions for
Grubhub’s horrible reputation among
restaurant owners in New York City
and around the nation,” Rigie said.
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relationships with restaurants.”
Johnson told the Bronx Times an investor
call took place Thursday morning,
where Just Eat Takeaway.com told
people it was a similar company to
Grubhub, which worried Gjonaj, Johnson
said.
Grubhub has been accused of charging
restaurants erroneous phone fees
and Johnson explained it was profi table
because it took money from drivers
and cash off listing fees from restaurants.
Meanwhile, Uber, DoorDash and
Postmates, are losing money because
they are focused on logistics, such as
happy drivers, insurance and background
checks.
The councilman expressed his concerned,
as Grubhub makes up 53 percent
of the restaurant sales in NYC.
“This may be a bigger Grubhub
with bigger marketing,” Johnson said.
“We want to see what this company is
going to do and what it is about.”