Uber Joins NYC Food Delivery Start-Up Rat Race Today With Stand-Alone UberEats App

The barrage of food delivery start-ups continues: Uber is launching its stand-alone and expanded UberEats app in New York today. The rideshare company has been offering its "instant delivery" option on the regular app — where several Midtown lunch options can be delivered within ten minutes — for some time now, but the expanded app will be more similar to traditional restaurant delivery, with more options and a longer wait.

Like start-ups Caviar, Postmates, and DoorDash, the sell is that UberEats manages the delivery people, leaving the restaurants free to focus on food prep. Meals come via bike messengers, and the company is touting delivery times of thirty minutes to an hour. It's already live in several other cities, including Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles.

More than 100 restaurants are using UberEats in New York, including Pies 'n' Thighs, Black Seed Bagel, Mighty Quinn's, Empellon Al Pastor, and Blossom du Jour. For now, only people in Manhattan below 100th Street will be able to use the app. There's currently no delivery fee, but eventually people will pay a flat, to-be-determined cost per order, according to an Uber spokeswoman. (For reference, delivery costs $3 in Chicago.) Meanwhile, restaurants hand over a 30 percent commission to Uber for each order, a percentage that is slightly higher than other start-ups.

The company has faced struggles to entering the market, from failed partnerships to a small customer base. Still, Uber's hoping that the company's expanded and curated list of options will appeal to diners, while its track record with logistics will appeal to restaurants. Early word from other Eater cities is that it's been fast and convenient, albeit somewhat pricey. UberEats is available from 8 a.m. to midnight, and you can start checking out the list of delivery options by downloading the iOS app here. Let us know how it compares if you check it out.