City Grab, the food delivery arm of City Taxis, have teamed up with their sister company ChefChef.store and event caterers PJ Taste, to create options for those brave or desperate enough to trade through these next few weeks.
Now that a substantial meal is a prerequisite for visiting a pub, the thorny question of how to open properly remains unresolved. Many simply won’t be able to afford the wages of kitchen staff, either at all, or during quieter shifts.
As pubs weigh up their options, City Grab have three opportunities for venues who decide to try and operate but are unable to open a kitchen. For all options we are promoting the idea of a ‘plateage fee’. Allowing pubs to charge a back to front version of corkage – the mainstay of BYOB venues over the years.
One option is to join a buddy system with one of City Grab’s outlets. The bar
effectively becomes a broker for the customer and orders meals via City Grab for consumption in the next hour. City Grab will offer a ’99p per mile’ delivery as a two week introductory offer from Go Live. Diners can expect their food to arrive within half an hour, with the pub charging a surcharge for the table. This can help keep two independents viable at the same time.
Alternatively, or to compliment the above, with ChefChef.store and PJ Taste we have developed a lunchtime and evening ready meal package. Lunch time meals are budget frozen meals, with evening meals pre-booked off a five plate menu and delivered ready to heat on the night.
All of the above will be supported by extensive marketing through the City Grab marketing, PR and social media channels.
We know it’s not ideal and it might not be enough – but if it helps one or two venues get through these crazy times then we reckon it’s worth it. if you are interested in joining the scheme or finding out more, get in touch with the team on hayley.hirst@citytaxis.com.
NOTE: This was the old tier 3, which is now tier 2, where pubs can only open if they operate as a restaurant. It will become relevant again if our area is moved to tier 2.