A Pandemic Lifeline for Restaurants, Delivery Is ‘Here to Stay’

As in-person dining returns, home delivery is holding up. For restaurants, services like DoorDash and Uber Eats could become a permanent part of their business.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Last fall, as the weather cooled and coronavirus cases began to rise, May Seto, the owner of Grand Lake Kitchen in Oakland, refurbished a used pizza oven and started a takeout and delivery pizza business out of an extra kitchen where she had cooked for catering and private events. Now, one of Grand Lake’s two locations serves as a hub for couriers picking up the restaurant’s cafe fare and pizzas. Ms. Seto also has plans to rebuild the entryway at her other location to provide more space for the flocks of delivery drivers picking up food. “We might rearrange the front of the restaurant a little bit, and keep delivery in mind as if it’s here to stay, because it is,” she said.