Ordering direct the best way to support local eateries, says Darwin restaurateur

DARWIN restaurateur Jason Hanna has called on Top End residents to order their meals direct, instead of from platforms such as Uber Eats.

Darwin restaurateur Jason Hanna is calling on Top End residents to order their meals direct, instead of from platforms such as Uber Eats. Picture: Glenn Campbell

DARWIN restaurateur Jason Hanna has called on Top End residents to order their meals direct, instead of from platforms such as Uber Eats.

Mr Hanna, who owns several of Darwin’s prominent eateries, said he was aware of one Top End business who withdrew from Uber Eats after forking out about $60,000 to be on their platform.

He said the 35 per cent Uber Eats commission was excessive given the tough economic climate at the moment.

“If all we have now is delivery, and Uber is not increasing footfall traffic – like they say they are supposed to do – then these poor businesses need to consider the business model because they cannot afford to hand over 35 per cent to Uber,” he said.

“At the end of the day, people are losing money.

“I feel for the Uber drivers, but without the businesses, no one will be able to drive anyway.”

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Mr Hanna said he felt that while platforms like Uber Eats can be viable when there are patrons coming through the front door, in these times of takeaway and delivery-only options, those platforms were no longer a way to add revenue.

“As much as cash flow is great, the bottom line will always catch up, especially now that we don’t have that money coming through the front door,” he said.

Due to rapidly changing business models, Mr Hanna said many of the staff that were once in customer service were now able to take on a role of doing deliveries for businesses.

Mr Hanna himself has even been behind the wheel in recent weeks, delivering food to patrons across Darwin.

“We were actually working on doing deliveries before all of this, and now it was just time to pull the trigger. It’s actually been kind of fun,” he said.

“At the end of the day, these are the times we are measured.

“It’s about showing a little bit of leadership, for me. I’m just trying to learn about the best way to tackle these deliveries so I can train and ensure our staff are able to do the same.

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“The beauty of doing our own delivery is because we aren’t using third party staff, we’re using people that understand the business, the restaurant and the operation. They’ve got training in food hygiene and safety and good quality sanitary procedures.

“The outpour of support from the general public has been amazing, it’s a whole new world.”