Grubhub offers relief to independent restaurants, drivers in wake of coronavirus

An on-demand food delivery platform is attempting to ease the financial impact of coronavirus on partner restaurants and drivers.

Grubhub is temporarily suspending collection of up to $100 million in commission payments from independent restaurants impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) nationwide. Qualified independent restaurants, which Grubhub says make up the majority of its 350,000-plus restaurant partners and drive more than 80% of its orders, will receive the financial relief.

"Independent restaurants are the lifeblood of our cities and feed our communities,” said Matt Maloney, founder and CEO of Grubhub. “They have been amazing long-term partners for us, and we wanted to help them in their time of need. Our business is their business, so this was an easy decision for us to make.”

Grubhub has also created a fund that will enable proceeds from its Donate the Change program, which lets customers round up the change on their orders to make donations, to go toward charitable organizations that support restaurants and drivers impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis. The program will allow diners to round up the change from every order and donate it to the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, with donations from Grubhub+ and Seamless+ subscription service members matched by the company. 

Grubhub will work with local city officials to identify the organizations that can utilize the funds and to consider other support programs during the pandemic. These initiatives follow a series of measures taken by Grubhub to keep restaurants, diners, and drivers safe during the outbreak – including contact-free delivery and health and safety guidance to drivers, restaurants and diners.