The company is clear about the motivations. Regional partnerships leader Georgie Thomas said this was about “empowering restaurants” to help them reach more customers and generate money. In other words, DoorDash only thrives if there are restaurants around to serve customers. This also gives the restaurant an incentive to stay away from rival delivery services.
It doesn’t always get along with restaurants. On top of the fees it charges, there have been complaints that it stiffed drivers on tips and created unrealistic expectations by subsidizing some orders. This is still a big move, though, and it won’t be surprising if other services follow suit to both keep restaurants afloat and help them corner key markets.
