From the kitchen to the customer - #lakewoodnews

Aside from pizza, Chinese food, and some sub shops, there aren't many delivery options for gourmands craving Denver's dining delicacies at home.

That soon won't be a problem in Arvada and Lakewood with the expansion of DoorDash Colorado, an on-demand restaurant delivery service, to these two cities.

"We're looking to the experts on the dining options in Denver," said Anna Katherine Barnett-Hart, general manager of DoorDash Colorado. "We reach out to restaurants to work with us, but we don't want to be delivery people, we want to be partners."

Users can download the DoorDash app or visit the company's website, www.doordash.com, input their address and find dining options around them. Then drivers (or "dashers") pick up the food and deliver it to customers' doors.

DoorDash launched three years ago in California, and expanded to Colorado in November. To get started, the company sent a launch team to the city to do research on the dining scene, area demographics and what makes Denver unique.

So far, DoorDash has about 100 partnerships with restaurants, and is looking at even more as it expands into Arvada and Lakewood.

"We looked at these two cities and saw there weren't a lot of delivery options, and the demographics really supported expansion," Barnett-Hart said. "We want to make our customers' lives easier by getting the best food around to their homes."

The company is not only committed to supporting their area economies by supporting local businesses, but also by providing jobs. Functioning in a similar way, dashers who go through training are able to make their own hours and work whenever they have time.

Southwest Denver resident Matthew Lopez, 49, found himself with extra time on his hands since his children are now out of the house, and came across DoorDash as a way to occupy his time and make some money.

"I did some delivery when I was younger, and liked it," he said. "This is different from back then, and I like that it's all app driven and there's no cash."

Most of the time orders are delivered in less than 45 minutes, thanks to DoorDash's logistics technology, which Lopez explained is based on drivers' GPS and when the food is going to be ready.

"I really like getting to see the people in the different restaurants and what food they're serving," he said. "Denver's dining is even more unique than I imagined."

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/From-the-kitchen-to-the-customer,211600?branding=15