FARMINGTON — A new venture will soon provide meal delivery from five Farmington restaurants to homes.

Downtown Delivery launches Jan. 27, Justin Richards said. A website and future App showcases menus and daily specials from each restaurant. A team of drivers is ready to provide delivery, he said.

The Homestead Kitchen, Bar & Bakery, The Dug Out Bar & Grill, The Granary Pub & Restaurant, Mosher’s Seafood-N-More and Jade Palace Restaurant have all signed on for the delivery service in a 10-mile radius of downtown Farmington.

Richards hopes to target lunch customers at larger businesses in the area, including Wilton.

“It is all about convenience and making the meals as accessible as possible,” he said.

It is not a new idea but it is a new concept for smaller towns. Other restaurant delivery businesses have done well in metropolitan areas over the last 10 years, he said.

Richards and the restaurants plan to focus more on quality of product and convenience to the customer, he said.

“I wanted a delivery service so I went out and created one,” he said. “It is an un-tapped opportunity, something brand new here.”

The service is also about driving sales for the restaurants, he said. His efforts focused on creative marketing strategies and advertising to provide options for customers and business for the restaurants and Downtown Delivery.

“It is a win-win,” he said. “If they don’t get paid, I don’t get paid.”

The new partnership has the potential for growth, Laurie Danforth, owner of Homestead, said. It is a good opportunity for some people to enjoy the food outside the restaurant.

Danforth and her staff are experimenting with what dishes travel best and retain their quality, she said. 

Family-size meal portions and group lunch options will enable a better price. Some changes to the restaurant’s menu will be made but it will still highlight healthy options and individual meals which feature flavor, quality, price and convenience, she said.

Another option under consideration — ingredients provided for a restaurant dish along with a video to show how to cook the meal at home, she said.

Richards will soon begin to deliver groceries. Customers will choose from an online listing of several basic items, including meat, milk or bread, he said.

A Farmington native, Richards studied business and entrepreneurship in college. He left school but had a passion for creating something unique to bring to the area.

He learned about Grubhub, a delivery service centered in large cities, and studied its business plan. After months of research, he put a plan together.

As part of an entrepreneur workshop offered by Main Street Skowhegan, Richards presented his plan in a “Shark Tank”-style competition. As runner-up, he won services that helped him refine the plan and make his dream ready for launch, he said.  

Using data from Downtown Delivery, Richards plans to replicate the business plan in other towns such as Skowhegan.

The use of technology streams a person’s order straight to the restuarant’s line cook via a tablet. A dispatcher alerts the closest driver to the pickup and delivery. The order can be tracked through GPS, he said.

Menus and specials are updated daily with special offers and deals available on the website at www.downtowndelivery.me

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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