East Cut Eats Concludes with Over $16,000 Raised for Local Businesses through Fee-Free Delivery Initiative

Posted on November 9, 2020

On Thursday, October 29th, East Cut CBD staff and volunteers got together for the last time to offer free delivery within the district to residents in an effort to support area small businesses. The East Cut Eats program, which launched in July 2020, had the goal of increasing awareness to which businesses in the district were open and to encourage residents to shop “hyper local” by offering free delivery from a highlighted merchant each week.

Volunteers pose with the team behind Town Hall during a delivery event.

To achieve this end, each week The East Cut CBD partnered with a restaurant in or at the border of the district, announcing the partnership to a mailing list of over 2,000 residents and promoting the partnership through social media. The CBD recruited volunteers to deliver orders placed through a proprietary webpage thus eliminating commission fees restaurants are charged by delivery apps (up to 15%) along with delivery and service fees.

Staff from The Lightbox Cafe pause while organizing orders for delivery with The East Cut CBD staff.

In total, East Cut Eats partnered with 12 local businesses and helped them generate over $16,000 in gross revenue while saving them nearly $2,000 in delivery fees. The program collected and delivered a total of 260 orders over 15 events leveraging a total of 50 volunteers over the four-month period.

An East Cut Eats volunteers secures a pizza order from Local Kitchen to their bicycle for delivery.

The East Cut CBD was under no illusion that one delivery event per week would change the financial course of things for any given restaurant, but the CBD did hope to inspire community members to prioritize supporting local businesses over others by showcasing the importance merchants play in bringing vitality to the local community. By supporting local businesses, East Cut residents in turn support their neighborhood economy. As the local economy grows and sidewalk vibrancy increases through the attraction of new businesses and visitors, the district becomes a more desirable place to live overall which benefits all who live, work, and visit!

Staff from Loa Table pose with volunteers during a summer delivery event.

You can continue to support local businesses by calling directly when placing an order and choosing pickup over delivery. This saves valuable dollars on every order! You can also do your part by leaving positive reviews online so others are more likely to “find” and patronize the places you enjoy.