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Exploring the Evolution of Food Delivery in California: Convenience At Your Doorstep

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Take A Bite
Exploring the Evolution of Food Delivery in California: Convenience At Your Doorstep

Food delivery has increased significantly in previous years, and with COVID-19, online food delivery has boomed so fast that nowadays, people usually order most items, including food and groceries, online. But did you ever wonder how the concept of food delivery originated? How did food delivery and online services evolve? 


No worries, if you're new to this and want to learn about food delivery California, we can walk you through it! We'll explore how food delivery began in California and how it works these days.


How food delivery began?

The concept of food delivery started with pizza. The first delivery dates back to 1889, when a pizza was delivered to a customer in Italy. This story is about a king and queen visiting Naples, Italy. The queen wasn't feeling well, so they ordered pizza for her. She adored the pizza so much that the pizzeria named it after her! This pizza had mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and basil, which are still popular toppings today.


Regarding food delivery in America, food delivery debuted in 1922 at a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles named Kin-Chu Cafe. Restaurant owners used to take orders through telephone calls, which were expected to be delivered as late as 1 a.m. In their advertisement about the service's grand opening, Kin Chu Cafe is considered "the only place on the West Coast that makes and delivers real Chinese food."


How did the food delivery industry evolve and innovate over time?

Around the 1950s, massive numbers of migrants moved from their cities to the suburbs. Suburban lodging had become affordable and comfortable, and automobiles had become generally used. 


Humans were no longer living within walking distance of restaurants or hotels, raising the need for food delivery availability in the suburbs. How could a restaurant miss this opportunity to increase its food delivery business? A Los Angeles pizza restaurant called Casa D'Amore started delivering the first-ever free delivery on orders less than $2.50. This way, a food delivery driver also started earning money by delivering food to customers.


People used to love watching TV at home. Because of that, families started to spend more time in their homes watching movies or favorite shows. They wished to have food at their tables without making any effort while watching or relaxing at home. A boom to food delivery owners! Restaurants started selling special meals to be eaten at home while watching TV, which turned out to be known as TV dinners.


Now, let's move a little forward to the 1990s when the internet began taking over the food delivery industry.

Back in 1994, Pizza Hut was ahead of the curve. They launched Pizzanet, which lets folks in Santa Cruz, California, order pizza online through the Internet. A year later, WorldWideWaiter started Waiter.com, the first-ever online food delivery California service. They had over 60, all in the San Francisco Bay Area.


Fast-forward to the 2000s, where everyone has a smartphone glued to their hand. This opened the door for food delivery apps, boosting food delivery growth to the next level. Grubhub was one of the first in 2004, and they actually hired their own food delivery driver instead of relying on restaurants. DoorDash jumped on the bandwagon in 2013, followed by Uber Eats and Postmates in 2014. It became a whole competition!


Even restaurants got in on the action. Domino's started its online ordering system in 2007. They weren't done there, though. In 2008, they totally changed the game with their pizza tracker. This nifty tool lets you see exactly where your pizza was, creating an upsurge in food delivery customer service.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, food delivery became so widespread that 90% of the population started ordering food online at their homes. Companies like DoorDash doubled their business in 2020 because everyone was stuck at home. Due to the new features available in food delivery, like contactless delivery, people who were at high risk of being COVID-19-positive could still enjoy a warm meal without leaving their couch.


These food delivery apps are going nowhere; the coronavirus period has made food delivery a trend. Nowadays, most people order food online because they are busy with work, have no time to cook, or don't wish to cook. A big thing they're looking at is being more eco-friendly. For instance, Uber Eats said they will eliminate all delivery emissions by 2040 and stop using all that extra plastic by 2030. Domino's is also doing its part by using a bunch of electric cars to deliver pizzas – they have the biggest electric pizza delivery fleet in the country, no kidding!


The future of food delivery looks wild. We might even see robots and drones delivering our food. Uber Eats and Domino's are already working with a company to test driverless food deliveries with special cars.


Other businesses like take a bite are also available to order food online in California nowadays. You can get your meal delivered through Take A Bite without leaving the comfort of your home or office. You can even arrange a request by providing a future date or time. They deliver your food within 30 minutes and are available on both iOS and Android.

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