I wasn't sure that Doordash et. al. weren't profitable, but I'm not surprised. When I thought about it, it seemed really hard to figure out a way that the econo

I wasn't sure that Doordash et. al. weren't profitable, but I'm not surprised. When I thought about it, it seemed really hard to figure out a way that the economics of most third-party delivery food services can work over the long run: the restaurant has to make a profit; the delivery company has to make a profit; the delivery driver has to earn enough income to feel like the gig's worthwhile. The delivery company doesn't want to charge the customer so much they feel like the service fees are untenable, so they need to also charge the restaurant, yet there isn't enough margin in the restaurant's normal pricing model to let them pay the delivery fees and turn a profit. The current system has balanced this in a way that's left a lot of restaurants feeling like they're being charged usurious amounts, yet the delivery company still isn't making money -- and customers who notice that that $16 pulled pork plate at Armadillo Willy's is a $19 plate from Doordash not including any added delivery or "service" fees may be less enthused about making those orders regular things if the restaurant's within comfortable pickup range.