DOWNTOWN — Food delivery company Grubhub is letting restaurants around the country keep up to $100 million in commissions.
The move is expected to help restaurants save money and stay afloat as they struggle to bring in customers during the spread of coronavirus. Grubhub, a Chicago-based company, made the announcement with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday morning.
As part of the effort, Grubhub will suspend collection of up to $100 million in commission payments from independent restaurants, according to a Mayor’s Office news release. There are nearly 10,000 restaurants partnered with the company in Chicago and it has thousands of delivery drivers here.
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“The reality … is that less people are choosing to dine in,” meaning more residents are relying on delivery orders, Lightfoot said during a news conference.
Grubhub’s move is a “huge deal” as restaurants are an essential part of Chicago’s neighborhoods and provide paychecks for thousands of residents, Lightfoot said.
While the health of residents is Chicago’s top priority, officials also recognize how it’s harming small businesses and giving anxiety to workers, Lightfoot said.
“Independent restaurants are the lifeblood of our cities and feed our communities,” said Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney in a news release. “They have been amazing longterm partners for us, and we wanted to help them in their time of need. Our business is their business — so this was an easy decision for us to make.”
Grubhub will also give money from its Donate the Change program to charitable groups that help restaurants and drivers impacted by coronavirus, according to the Mayor’s Office.
The program allows people ordering food to round up the change from their order and donate it to the Grubhub Community Relief Fund. Grubhub matches the money donated by Grubhub+ members.
The program raises more than $1 million per month, according to Grubhub. The company will work with city officials to determine which groups can best use the donations.
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