The Food Delivery App Turf War in Maine
Mike Bolduc, CEO OF 2DineIn. Photo by Fred Bever for Maine Public
Food delivery app companies GrubHub and Uber Eats are entering a turf war in Maine. As they both try to win customers in the southern part of the state, they have an entrenched competitor to contend with too – the local guy.
If you’re feeling peckish, the food delivery apps make it pretty easy to tap into Portland’s dynamic foodie scene – a few taps on your smartphone, choose a restaurant, choose from the menu that pops up, authorize a payment – including a delivery fee – and, maybe a half hour later you can expect your order.
2DineIn is one of these apps, and it has been connecting customers and restaurants in Greater Portland for a decade. Ben Besanko has been a part-time driver for 2DineIn since February. He says in about 15 hours per week driving his Jeep wrangler from restaurant to customer, he makes more than $200 in tips and salary, supplementing his regular job at Hannaford.
“It’s pretty fun actually, you see a lot of people, experience a lot of new restaurants,” he says. “I’m from Gorham, I didn’t know a whole lot about Portland, so now I know a little bit more.”
2DineIn “started very small, ridiculously nose to the grindstone for along time,” says the CEO Mike Bolduc. Bolduc is a Norridgewock native. He says 2DineIn started as a desktop venture and morphed into a smartphone app about five years ago. It has been growing slowly, and he has 60 employees, part and full time, with almost 100 restaurants signed up now.