There is a lot of truth to the notion that franchisees can run stores better than companies. Denny's, similar to its market competitors, is now banking on this strategy for future growth.
This move makes sense for Pizza Hut, solely because Grubhub already operates the off-premise businesses of sister chains Taco Bell and KFC. So what if its industry pizza rivals with proprietary delivery make fun of it?
It's no surprise that Grubhub is going after more enterprise restaurant relationships this year, and it says that it's the one to beat when it comes to the variety of technology support that it can offer to the nationwide chains.
Pizza Hut is banking on delivery to get store sales back to where they once were, and it soon may have help from Yum! Brands' official delivery partner, Grubhub.
Chipotle's integrated partnership with DoorDash and the extra investment in building out in-store delivery efficiencies has been paying off well for the chain. Plus, it doesn't hurt that burritos are the perfect delivery food.
McDonald's is going full speed ahead with its Uber Eats integration, but at what cost? Some operators are saying that the system's delivery economics are unsustainable, and, eventually, that's going to have to change.
For the restaurateurs who can afford the upfront development costs, investing in a proprietary delivery system offers way better profit margins — and, often, a better customer experience — than third-party delivery services.