Buccan and Imoto, two Asian-inspired, wood-fire fueled restaurants in Palm Beach, Fla., were having trouble keeping up with the demand for takeout and delivery orders. Meanwhile, sister restaurant Grato, in West Palm Beach, Fla., had a dining room that wasn’t as busy as its owners, Ember Management Group, would have liked.
So in the first week of March, chef Clay Conley and business partners Sam Slattery and Piper Quinn launched Food and Beverage, a virtual restaurant that combines select dishes from all three concepts for delivery only.
They partnered with Delivery.com to have drivers waiting in the alley behind Grato, where the dishes are prepared and delivered directly to customers. The result has been a more orderly order flow, and a reduction in average delivery time from an hour to 39 minutes.
Slattery said it was their way of dipping their toes in the water of virtual concepts, and so far it’s going well.
In this video, Conley and Slattery discuss the new project and share plans for possible expansion.
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