Hemmes takes on Uber Eats, MenuLog in bid to keep staff

In the face of COVID-19 dining restrictions bar baron Justin Hemmes is taking on the home delivery food giants, redeploying his staff as delivery drivers during the current shutdown.

Justin Hemmes is taking on the home delivery food giants.

The Merivale playboy, who has been forced to shut more than 60 venues and is operating takeaway and delivery from the remaining few, is preparing to launch his own delivery platform that will sidestep global players like UberEats and MenuLog.

It's understood Hemmes hatched the idea as a way to help keep as many of his staff employed as delivery drivers during the COVID-19 shutdown.

However it's believed he plans to continue the Merivale food delivery service even after venues are permitted to return to normal operation.

"We are still working through the details and finalising venues so (it's) not fully ready to announce just yet," Hemmes told The Daily Telegraph.

Justin Hemmes is preparing to launch his own delivery platform. Picture: Nikki Short

"(But) we are going to be launching takeaway at more of our venues and our own home delivery service using Merivale staff."

It's understood the concept stemmed from the surprise success of Merivale's first makeshift takeaway 'Pick Up at Totti's' which was launched at the beginning of the coronavirus restrictions.

That led to similar offerings from other high-end restaurants including Fred's in Paddington and Bert's at The Newport, where diners can order partially pre-made meals in a box designed to be completed at home.

Under the new in-house delivery platform it's believed the remainder of Merivale's dining offerings will be incorporated with the delivery service sidestepping the thirty-five per cent commission charged by companies like UberEats and Deliveroo.

Companies like UberEats and Deliveroo charge a thirty-five per cent commission.

Once source close to the breakaway service says it could soon be offered to other non-Merivale related businesses for a much smaller cut.

However, asked if he would extend delivery to other companies outside of his own stable, Hemmes replied; "Not sure yet."

The move to expand his burgeoning home-delivery empire comes as a number of Sydney food and beverage businesses have stumbled onto an unlikely lifeline during the COVID shutdown.

Many high-end restaurants who have never offered takeaway or delivery previously are booming.

Rose Bay eatery Catalina is inundated nightly with demands for everything from Belugas caviar ($300 per serve) and sucking pig at $140 per head while Josh Niland's famed seafood restaurant Saint Peter has a wildly popular takeaway menu of dishes like smoked eel pie, braised coral trout and Yellowfin tuna cheeseburgers.

Famed seafood restaurant Saint Peter has a wildly popular takeaway menu of dishes.

Matteo Galletto of iconic Paddington Italian institution Lucio's, which is offering both takeaway and delivery for the first time, says he plans on continuing their new 'side hustle' indefinitely.

"In the past, successful restaurants have been too busy to experiment with home delivery but with the situation we are in now, it has actually opened up a whole lot of new opportunities," he says.

"People talk about how the hospitality industry will be different once life goes back to normal and what I think the big thing will be is people having much higher expectations for what they are eating at home."

Originally published as Hemmes takes on Uber Eats, MenuLog in bid to keep staff