Toronto restaurant offering to help other businesses create delivery and takeout websites

While businesses across the city continue to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, some are also taking the opportunity to help each other through these difficult times.

Miss Thing's, a pan-Asian, Polynesian-inspired restaurant and cocktail bar in Parkdale, is being particularly generous by offering to help other restaurants develop websites so their customers can order and pay for takeout and delivery entirely online.

They recently developed their own independent website of this kind, and they publicly offered to help other restaurants do the same on Instagram yesterday. 

View this post on Instagram

As this global health and economic crisis unfolds, it’s quickly becoming apparent that restaurants and small business teams and are going to need to adapt in order to survive. - - - We've just finished building a new website for Miss Thing's in order to facilitate offering takeout orders when we can safely relaunch, and realized that other restaurants may benefit from what we've created. I've included a link to our new website in our bio. - - Many restaurants that are processing orders independently without food delivery partners are not always able to offer contactless payment. Having customers pay for orders in person upon pickup or receipt of delivery increases the risk of exposure for both staff and customers. - - - Our solution allows your customers to order from your menu and pay online in advance for pick up or independent delivery. The ordering app looks and feels a lot like UberEats, but there is no commission on your sales and 100% of your sales revenue settles directly to your bank account. Yes, this is very much like a Shopify for restaurants, and we would like to help provide this safer and more efficient solution for other restaurants if they're interested. - - My team and I are currently volunteering our services to create websites and upgrades for restaurants and other retailers that are trying to make the transition to online sales free of charge. If you think we could help you, please send us a DM, or email nav@missthings.com. We will be taking on as many requests as we can handle. - - - Stay safe. Stay strong. Nav Sangha 🙏🏽🌺🌴

A post shared by Miss Thing's (@missthingshawaiian) on Mar 22, 2020 at 4:42pm PDT

"We've just finished building a new website for Miss Thing's in order to facilitate offering takeout orders when we can safely relaunch, and realized that other restaurants may benefit from what we've created," they wrote.

"Many restaurants that are processing orders independently without food delivery partners are not always able to offer contactless payment. Having customers pay for orders in person upon pickup or receipt of delivery increases the risk of exposure for both staff and customers."

Miss Thing's announced last week that they'd be temporarily suspending takeout and delivery while they work to develop a new special menu comprised of more cost effective and sustainable options to be used throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Their new website, which allows customers to order and pay entirely online without a third-party delivery partner, will be used once their takeout menu is up and running once again. 

The website looks similar to delivery apps like Uber Eats, but it doesn't use a delivery partner and therefore 100 per cent of the profits go to the restaurant. 

In the meantime, they're offering to help other restaurants create a similar site for free. 

"Yes, this is very much like a Shopify for restaurants, and we would like to help provide this safer and more efficient solution for other restaurants if they're interested," they continued on Instagram.

"My team and I are currently volunteering our services to create websites and upgrades for restaurants and other retailers that are trying to make the transition to online sales free of charge."

The restaurant owners have agreed to take on as many requests as they can handle, and anyone interested in the offer can send them an Instagram DM or an email at nav@missthings.com. 

by Mira Miller via blogTO