Independent quick-service chain adds online orders to menu

Grill City is opening its first-ever digital store.

The Filipino-style quick-service barbecue restaurant with locations in the U.S. and Canada is entering the digital retail channel with technology from e-commerce platform provider Local Express. Grill City restaurants are located in or adjacent to Seafood City Filipino supermarkets, which installed the Local Express e-commerce solution earlier in 2020.

Grill City is using the Local Express deli/catering module, a flexible tool for restaurants, to build its online brand and reduce fees paid to delivery companies. The solution enables customers to create customizable combination plates rather than having to pick a standard combination plate, providing added freedom of choice.

The Local Express e-commerce platform offers a full-service, web and mobile solution for independent retailers. It features a database with more than 1.2 million grocery items along with multiple options for store pick-up and delivery.
 
“Seafood City has been using Local Express for several months with great success, so it only made sense to use the same vendor to expand our online service offering to Grill City,” said Jonas C. Veneration, IT at Seafood City. “The platform enables us to extend our customer reach by providing ready-prepared meals and fast food items that are easily customizable by the consumer.” 
 
“COVID has changed consumer eating patterns dramatically and Grill City needed to adjust to a new restaurant environment that is based on the delivery business,” said Bagrat Safarian, co-founder of Local Express. “The experience Seafood City had with their rollout established a solid roadmap for Grill City and the addition of our deli/catering module creates an easy-to-use tool for both the operator and its growing number of customers.” 
  
Grill City has 23 locations across California, Nevada, Washington state, and Canada.