Food Delivery in Kingston

In the age of instant gratification and automated everything, businesses that cater to making your life easier are popping up everywhere and flourishing. During a recent trip to Toronto, it was impossible to miss the numerous food delivery services that were popping in and out of Bloor St. restaurants of all types. Delivery people wearing shirts with the words “Door Dash“, “Foodora” and “Uber Eats” were traveling by car and bicycle alike, and with their handheld devices and soft coolers, it was clear that they were not messing around.

Delivery companies are not a new thing. In fact, private delivery services and even taxi cabs were the perfect way for underage teens to get their hands on booze back in the day (so I’ve been told…) and these services can also make a killing delivering for restaurants who don’t have a permanent delivery person on staff.  McDonald’s recently announced their intention to give delivery another go after failing to see it catch on in the 90s. With improvements in the ability to keep food warm longer and the increasing desire of many of us to get what we want brought right to us with minimal effort, this is probably just as good a time as any to try again.

Bicycle delivery is tricky for many reasons but especially in a city like Kingston where bike lanes and other infrastructure are still lacking. (Hopefully we’ll continue to see more improvement in this area over the next few years.) Despite the challenges of zooming around on two wheels, companies such as Spoke and Fork have made attempts at providing speedy, environmentally friendly delivery in downtown ygk. Despite the well-kept website, it seems that the company is on some sort of hiatus. It’s easy to imagine the challenges of running a bicycle delivery service in a town of our size and design: Lack of business? Lack of infrastructure? Canadian winters? Truck delivery however, such as JJ Express (who do also offer bike couriers) which has been running in Kingston for at least as long as I’ve lived here (nearly 20 years) is showing no signs of slowing down.

Bike, truck, uber, taxi or otherwise, this week we want to know:

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Tell us about your experiences with food delivery in kingston. While we are talking a lot about food, there are lots of reasons to use a local service. Perhaps you forgot an ingredient for a recipe or an essential item at the office supply but the baby is sleeping. A courier could quickly help you out for a small fee. While they don’t yet exist in ygk, have you used a service such as UberEats, Foodora or Door Dash while visiting larger centres? Maybe you have experience with Kingston’s own Spoke and Fork. Let us know how it went!

Thanks to Runs With Scissors for today’s photo of various delivery methods.