New delivery service Order Carolina aims to charge less

What started with a good burrito from Tyler’s Restaurant & Taproom in Carrboro one Sunday afternoon in November ended as a promising business venture for sophomore Rob Schmidt.

Schmidt co-launched Order Carolina, a new food-delivery service for the Chapel Hill area, with sophomore Alex Peat last month after wishing that burrito could be delivered to his doorstep.

Order Carolina has been successful in its first weeks. With about 10 drivers already on payroll and a huge demand for Al’s Burger Shack deliveries, the business has made more than $2,000 in sales.

Order Carolina currently has contracts with several Chapel Hill restaurants and stores.

Their slogan, “Push a button. Get Food,” advertises an affordable, efficient resource for hungry students.

Tarheel Takeout’s advertising as a luxury service is what drove Schmidt to enter into the food delivery market as a competitor. Tarheel Takeout charges a flat delivery rate of $4.99, plus a 10 percent minimum charge for gratuity. Order Carolina currently charges $2 for their services.

Tarheel Takeout declined to comment on their new challenger.

In December, Peat and Schmidt began researching competitors, finding out when restaurants get the most orders and at what time.

“We had to get the analytics and logistics of it, figuring out what we could offer and what places deliver already,” Peat said.

In 2012, Scoot Food, a student-led initiative, attempted to compete against Tarheel Takeout by delivering food on scooters, but it is no longer offered..

In January, Order Carolina formed a partnership with Crunchbutton, a competitor from Yale University with essentially the same idea. Crunchbutton receives orders directly from the customer via www.ordercarolina.com or the Crunchbutton app, and sends it to the restaurant and driver.

Sophomore Austin Kueffner, who put Schmidt into contact with the owner of Crunchbutton, is part of Order Carolina’s marketing and operations team. He wants to have an advantage over Tarheel Takeout by having a relationship with the late-night market.

“A company like this is easier for college students to start up because there aren’t many barriers, and it doesn’t require a lot of time or money,” he said.

Senior Layne Brodie, also a member of the marketing and operations team, has worked to publicize Order Carolina through social media, guerilla marketing and word of mouth.

“None of us have ever done a start-up before. There is no protocol or book on how to do it,” she said. “We’re just flying by the seat of our pants and having to figure things out ourselves.”

This summer Order Carolina will expand to other North Carolina schools.

“I hope to have enough people operating in place that eventually people here at the school can run it,” Schmidt said. “I believe Order Carolina will be able to provide students at UNC with an affordable service for generations to come.”

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