← Back to Blog

Restaurant Delivery: How to Make Money on Third-Party Apps (Or Ditch Them) | Zenith Digital Menus

Third-party delivery apps take 15-30% commission on every order. On a $30 order, you might net $21-$25 — and that's before food cost. But delivery is now 20-25% of restaurant revenue industry-wide. Here's how to make it profitable.

The Real Math on Third-Party Apps

Let's break down a typical $30 DoorDash order:

• DoorDash commission (25%): -$7.50
• Food cost (30%): -$9.00
• Packaging: -$1.50
• Labor to prepare: -$3.00
• Your profit: $9.00 (30% margin)

Compare to the same $30 dine-in order:

• No commission: $0
• Food cost (30%): -$9.00
• Labor (server + kitchen): -$6.00
• Your profit: $15.00 (50% margin)

Delivery is less profitable per order — but it's incremental revenue that uses your existing kitchen during off-peak times.

Making Third-Party Apps Profitable

1. Delivery-Specific Menu

• Cut items that don't travel well — Fried items get soggy. Delicate plating gets destroyed. Ice cream melts.
• Add high-margin items — Sides, drinks, desserts that cost you almost nothing
• Create "delivery exclusives" — Combo meals priced 15-20% higher than dine-in to offset commissions
• Bigger portions — Delivery customers can't be upsold by servers, so bake value into the base price

2. Price Differently for Delivery

Most apps allow you to set different prices than your dine-in menu. Raise delivery prices 15-20% to offset commissions. Customers expect this — they're already paying delivery fees.

3. Optimize for Volume

• Accept orders during slow periods only — Turn off apps during your dinner rush. You don't need $21-net orders when dine-in tables are waiting.
• Dedicated prep station — Don't let delivery orders slow down dine-in service
• Batch prep delivery items — Pre-portion popular delivery items during afternoon downtime

Building Your Own Delivery Channel

The real play is moving customers from apps to your direct ordering:

Direct Ordering Setup

• Add online ordering to your website — Square Online, ChowNow, or Toast Online Ordering
• Audit your website first — AuditMySite can check if your site is fast enough on mobile (slow sites lose 53% of mobile orders)
• Hire your own drivers — Or use delivery-only services like DoorDash Drive (flat fee per delivery, no commission on the order)

Converting App Customers to Direct

• Insert a flyer in every delivery bag — "Order direct and save 10%! [YourWebsite.com/order]"
• Loyalty program for direct orders only — "Every 10th order free" drives repeat direct orders
• Exclusive items — "Available only on our website" creates incentive to switch
• QR code on packaging — Links directly to your ordering page

Ghost Kitchen Strategy

If delivery volume justifies it, consider a virtual brand:

• Your kitchen makes the food, but it's listed under a different name on delivery apps
• Example: Your Italian restaurant also operates "NYC Slice Co." on DoorDash — same kitchen, different brand, different audience
• Some restaurants run 2-3 virtual brands from one kitchen
• Use BrandScout to check name availability for your virtual brand concept

Packaging That Protects Your Brand

• Invest in quality packaging — Soggy, leaky containers = 1-star reviews. Spend the extra $0.30-0.50 per order.
• Vent holes for hot items — Prevents steam from making crispy items soggy
• Separate sauces and dressings — Small containers on the side
• Branded stickers — Tamper-evident and marketing in one. $0.05 each for custom stickers.
• Include napkins, utensils, condiments — Missing items = angry reviews

The Decision Framework

Should you use third-party apps?

• Yes if: You have kitchen capacity during off-peak, want to acquire new customers, and can price to maintain margins
• No if: You're already at capacity, can't raise delivery prices, or app orders slow down dine-in service
• Best of both: Use apps for discovery, convert regulars to direct ordering, and run virtual brands for incremental revenue

The restaurants winning at delivery in 2026 aren't choosing between apps and direct — they're using both strategically, with clear margin targets and relentless conversion of app customers to direct ordering.