Once a restaurant moves off marketplace apps for its own ordering, the delivery question doesn't go away — it just changes shape. Instead of "which app do I list on," it becomes "who actually drives the food." There are really only two practical answers: staff you employ and manage directly, or an on-demand driver network like Uber Direct. Here's how to think about which fits.
Hiring and scheduling your own delivery drivers means paying wages (and often mileage or vehicle reimbursement) regardless of order volume on a given night. It also means owning the management overhead — schedules, insurance, vehicle reliability, and coverage when someone calls in sick. In exchange, you get full control over the delivery experience and no per-delivery fee eating into the order.
Uber Direct plugs a driver network into your own ordering page for a flat per-delivery fee — commonly in the $6–$10 range — rather than a percentage commission. There's no payroll, no scheduling, and coverage scales automatically with demand: busy Friday night or dead Tuesday afternoon, you're only charged per delivery that actually happens.
| In-house delivery | Uber Direct | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | Fixed (wages, regardless of volume) | Variable (flat fee per delivery) |
| Coverage during a rush | Limited to staff on shift | Scales with driver network availability |
| Management overhead | Scheduling, insurance, vehicle reliability | None — handled by the network |
| Delivery experience control | Full control | Limited to what the network's driver does |
| Best for | Steady, predictable local volume | Variable volume, overflow, wider radius |
In-house staff usually make the most financial sense for a restaurant with steady, predictable local delivery volume — the fixed wage cost gets spread across enough orders to beat a per-delivery fee. Uber Direct earns its keep exactly where in-house delivery struggles: covering a dinner rush that outpaces available staff, reaching addresses outside a comfortable driving radius, or simply not needing to manage delivery staff at all for a restaurant with lower or unpredictable volume.
It's worth being clear about one thing: needing driver coverage and being listed on a delivery marketplace are two separate decisions that often get bundled together in owners' minds. Uber Direct lets a restaurant tap a driver network through its own ordering page without ever appearing on a marketplace listing or paying marketplace commission — delivery logistics and marketplace presence don't have to travel together.