Ordering in is no longer limited to restaurants that deliver. WhyDrive Food Delivery can pick up takeout from any restaurant and deliver it to customers.
Alex Larson, owner of WhyDrive Food Delivery and sophomore at Southern Union, said the idea came from a late-night visit to Checkers with his girlfriend.
"We're in the drive-thru, and we see the young guy, who later found out his name was Will," Larson said. "And this poor guy is hung over the intercom at the drive-thru trying to make an order, on foot, barely holding himself up."
Larson said after a good laugh he and his girlfriend offered Will a ride.
"So I drive back around right through the drive-thru again and get him his Checkers, take him home, he gives me $5," Larson said.
Larson said by the time he got home he had an idea. After a month of planning, WhyDrive Food Delivery has been operating for one month.
Drivers pick up and deliver food from any restaurant in Auburn starting at 5 p.m. and ending at midnight.
"Our busiest is probably Sunday night," Larson said. "Sunday night is a good one, or Friday at like two in the morning."
Larson said they've had orders for yogurt from Chill to steaks from Hamilton's on Magnolia.
"It's hard to imagine most people wanting to have a charge of $5 to order their food," said Brian Deloach, employee at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, which doesn't charge a delivery fee. "That's just my opinion of it."
Deloach said he could only see this business being successful for students living in dorms.
Byrant Gardner, driver for Domino's Pizza, said he doesn't believe WhyDrive Food Delivery will affect business.
"It would cost (customers) more to use them to deliver instead of Domino's," Gardner said.
Even so, Gardner said he believes WhyDrive Food Delivery will be fairly successful because customers will pay a fee for food that isn't near where they live.
"That's definitely something that I would want to use if I was in a big group of people because the delivery fee will be split up," said Bailey Vaughn, freshman in physical therapy.
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