Montreal-based companies work to keep food delivery services local

These days, evenings are pretty quiet at La Bêtise, a Montreal tapas bar and eatery.

That's because public health measures have barred dine-in service and closed bars, meaning it's takeout or delivery only.

That means customers are turning to big-name delivery apps to get a taste of their favourite local foods, but those apps, which charge a delivery fee, are far from local. For example, DoorDash and Uber Eats are both based in the United States.

New food-ordering platforms are stepping up to the plate against delivery giants and inviting Quebecers to support locally owned delivery services like RestoLoco.

And La Bêtise is one of the many restaurants relying on RestoLoco, according to the restaurant's owner, Douglas Tan.

"We're actually 100 per cent relying on them," said Tan.

People just aren't calling the restaurant and ordering the traditional way anymore, he said. 

Restoloco founder and CEO Axel Lespérance said everybody can get a piece of the pie.

"We are opening our capital to the public so everyone can buy shares of Restoloco and become shareholders," he said.

In 2019, Canadians spent $1.5 billion on food delivery. The companies not only charge customers a few bucks per delivery, but they also charge hefty commissions from restaurants.

Last year, the province adopted legislation limiting the fees delivery apps can charge restaurants to 20 per cent when dining rooms are closed, but some eateries are still struggling to pay that price.

Lespérance says investing in his new delivery service means restaurants can participate in the company's growth, and get some of those profits back.

"This is what we need, we need a collective movement to face the delivery giants that are actually dominating the market," he said.

With partnerships across Quebec, RestoLocal is operating in about a dozen different cities in the province and in Ottawa.