UberEATS comes to Chicago, promises delivery in minutes

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A new service has sprung up in Chicago that is like Uber for food delivery — literally.

UberEATS, an on-demand meal delivery service created by the ridesharing giant, launched today in Chicago and New York.

According to an announcement on Uber’s blog, users in those cities can now "get food from the most popular, iconic restaurants delivered within minutes.” The service piloted in L.A. — where it was known formerly as UberFRESH — and Barcelona before coming to Chicago and New York. The list of participating restaurants in L.A. continues to grow, and the delivery time has improved to 10 minutes or less, according to the blog post.

“UberEATS has been extremely popular in both Los Angeles and Barcelona, and we’ve seen a ton of demand,” Elyse Knopf, operations and logistics manager at Uber, said. “Consumers love it, restaurants love it, and the driver partners who are delivering the food love it, as well.”

The service will be available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in River North and the Loop. The menu will change daily and will be curated to cater to a variety of tastes, Knopf said.

Today, UberEATS will be delivering the Pepito Torta and the XOCO Salad from XOCO. Starting tomorrow, users will have access to one item from two partner restaurants. Freshii, County BBQ, Bountiful Eatery, Cemitas Puebla, Doc B’s, and DMK Burger Bar are participating in the launch week.

The user experience for UberEATS is similar to using Uber for a ride. Users go to the EATS section in the app, select their location and tap view menu. From there, users pick their meals and place an order. An Uber driver brings the meal straight to them.

Knopf said users will be charged a flat $3 delivery fee, regardless of the number of meals ordered and distance traveled. Users can also split the bill like they split a fare.

“We believe Chicago is an amazing city for food — we’re big foodies here — and UberEATS curates menu options to the consumer to provide the best local flavors in Chicago,” Knopf said. “We figured it was an easy choice.”



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