City Of Boulder Banking On Local Restaurants With Help Of Delivery App 'Nosh'
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- The City of Boulder is hoping a new app can help boost local restaurants after months of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. That's in part, because Boulder is picking up the cost of commission.
"We're always looking for our ability to get our food to guests without paying 30% of our sales to a third party," said Datoka Soifer the Chef-owner of Café Aion.
Soifer is like 70 other restaurant owners who have jumped on the site for Nosh in Boulder. It's a company that has already been operating across Northern Colorado from Loveland to Fort Collins and Greeley. The site and app state that it takes a smaller percentage than larger delivery apps.
Nosh was picked as part of a public-private partnership with the City of Boulder.
"If we did $1,000 in sales with Nosh, that's great. If we did $1,000 in sales with Uber Eats we walk with $650," Soifer said. "Literally every dollar spent in this program is staying in Boulder to help pay taxes, to go back to paying employees, to paying rent to landlords. To me it feels like a really smart and fair way to put some love back into the community."
Nosh says it already has 175 driver applicants. Restaurants like Café Aion aren't giving up on other apps, just adding to an already mind-boggling amount of tablets placed in the kitchen.
"At this point it's a game of adding up small sales, at least for us. It's hard to say no to an extra $50 a night," Soifer said.
Delivery and takeout now makes up two-thirds of Soifer's business as cold weather limits outdoor seating and regulations prevent more indoor dining. He's hoping a delivery option with the restaurant owner in mind will help him stay open.
"It's really interesting and exciting to me this makes a ton of sense. It's in the city's interest to support small businesses and this is a great way," he said.
