Have you ever had one of those days where everything went wrong at work, you got stuck in traffic, you’re exhausted, and when you step into your home, your family is staring back at you wondering what’s for dinner?
Well, you’re in luck, because all you need to do now is visit the DubvEatz website or app and order any type of cuisine you prefer, and get it delivered right to your doorstep.
Nick Henson, president and co-owner, explained that DubvEatz is a direct but locally owned competitor to bigger chains like Uber Eats and Grubhub. It was established at the end of 2017, with a few friends in Morgantown, who worked first at a company called OrderUp, which was bought out by Grubhub.
“After being fed up and frustrated with the merger, they started their own company to make sure that the employees were paid the way they’re supposed to be all the time,” said Henson. “I run the Eastern Panhandle market—my partner, Ryan Malott, co-founder and COO, and Lee Roman, co-founder and CMO, run the Morgantown branch. Of course, none of this is possible without our wonderful staff of drivers who make it all happen behind the scenes.”
The business specializes in providing customers with a wide variety of food options locally. And they have all you crave—from fast food to five-star restaurants. In fact, DubvEatz is Morgantown’s only premium local delivery, specializing in food and grocery delivery to all parts of Morgantown with over fifty vendors to choose from.
How it Works
Within the first year of business in Morgantown (2018), the company did a staggering half a million in total sales, with this year being on track to be close to the same with the expansion to the new market.
“The motivation behind moving to the Panhandle was me,” Henson explained. “I reached out to my buddy who owned the company. He was talking about expanding and I mentioned how we didn’t have much like that around here, but I’ve heard countless amounts of people talk about how the Panhandle needs something like this. And thus, the expansion became a reality.”
On the business side of things, there are different compensation options that a restaurant can choose should they decide to work with DubvEatz.
“We will take a percentage of the food total from restaurants we have contracts with, such as twenty to thirty percent, depending on the restaurant and the agreement,” added Henson. “For restaurants that don’t have contracts with us, there is a service fee included in the tax where the company makes its money. Since the driver takes seventy-five percent of the delivery fee and one hundred percent of the tip, the company makes money off the contract percentage from the restaurants or a service fee for restaurants we haven’t signed an official contract with yet. Restaurants that have contracts don’t pay any fees and only pay us a commission for orders that come through us.”
On the consumer side of things, the business model works a lot like the other services. Simply log on to their website or use their app by downloading on either platform. Type in your address and pick from the list of restaurants to place your order. You’ll get an estimate of the delivery fees, and how many minutes it will take to receive your order. They even offer the ability to place orders in advance for time-sensitive things with a large selection of local and chain restaurants.
Some of the restaurants delivered by DubVEatz include Papa John’s Pizza, Panera Bread, and Taco Bell. You can even order groceries from Walmart brought right to your doorstep.
Formula for Success
Since opening a little over five months ago in the Panhandle, DubvEatz has done almost seven hundred deliveries totaling over nine thousand miles.
“We see a lot of trends, from elderly people who can’t leave the house, single-car families, cars that have broken down, weather, and just generally people who don’t want to leave their warm homes to have to go get food,” said Henson. “That’s where we come in. We bring it right to you with a smile on our face.”
If anyone is interested in applying to be a driver for DubvEatz, the process is pretty simple. There is a link on the website that allows you to fill out the form and submit electronically.
“We actually don’t have many positions available, we’re not quite busy enough to supply a ton of jobs,” Henson added. “I have myself, and two others that help me regularly, including my long-time girlfriend. Someone who would want to work for us is usually looking for a second job, or in some cases, the main job if we have the workload to supply a living.”
All in all, Henson sees steady growth as the formula for success in the Panhandle for DubvEatz. “The more people help to spread the word and know we’re here and servicing the people of this area, the better we’ll do,” he said. “We have a number of extremely loyal, regular customers who absolutely love us. I believe they support us solely because they want to see us stick around, which makes me feel good about doing this for the people out there who may actually need us.”
By Robin Murphy
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