Thousands spent in fight with delivery companies

An Ipswich business is launching its own app to try and claw back revenue taken by food delivery companies during a dire period for the hospitality industry

AN Ipswich business owner has spent more than $15,000 developing an app he hopes will claw back revenue taken by food delivery companies during a dire period for the hospitality industry.

Indian Mehfil owner Raj Sharma said the idea of an app for the CBD restaurant had been brewing before COVID-19 broke out but the pandemic cemented the need for one.

It had already been a difficult year for the Ipswich businessman, who also operates owns other restaurants in Brisbane, before COVID-19.

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Mr Sharma was forced to close the doors of the Ipswich eatery in February to fix a sunken floor in the kitchen of the council-owned building and he has reported a huge drop off in foot traffic due to the redevelopment of the city centre.

The business has been offering delivery since it opened 11 years ago but Mr Sharma said 90 per cent of orders had been coming through UberEats during the pandemic.

He said UberEats takes a 35 per cent cut of each order and there were issues not being able to directly communicate with customers when issues arose.

The app, developed by Harris Data Systems, will launch on Monday.

Ipswich restaurant Indian Mehfil is launching an app on September 7.

"We thought how can we get people to come and use our platform to order where we're not charged a phenomenal amount of money?" Mr Sharma said.

"We want to ensure we have a direct relationship with the customer and we are responsible for the order.

"We were getting quite frustrated. It's direct to us rather than through somebody else.

"We have a huge number of problems with drivers dumping the food or not picking it up on time. Customers are then calling us but we can't get on to (UberEats).

"We've invested a huge amount of time and resources and money into the app."

Mr Sharma said very few people are choosing to dine in at the moment with the vast majority of orders takeaway or delivery.

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He understood people were being cautious but assured them all precautions were being undertaken so it was safe.

"A lot of us are doing it very, very hard," he said.

"I think our survival depends on the community.

"I urge everyone in the Ipswich community to support all local businesses. That's the only way they'll survive."

Indian Mehfil is offering a buy one get one free deal for anyone who downloads the app on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

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