Grubhub, Coronavirus, and the Local Economy

Late this morning, I happened to see that our CEO (Matt Maloney) had an upcoming “announcement.” I wasn’t sure if it was an email, or some kind of internal communication… but I came to find that he was sharing a stage with Mayor Lightfoot at a press conference. Jump to 21:12 to watch.

GRUBHUB & ECONOMIC RELIEF: Mayor Lightfoot joins Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney for a special announcement regarding economic relief for local restaurants and delivery partners. https://t.co/DqP7GXcOVU

— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) March 13, 2020

Anticipating a decline in people patronizing local restaurants, Grubhub has decided to forego all marketing fees to restaurants for the foreseeable future, up to $100M. The thinking behind this being that, during the Coronavirus epidemic, smaller, local restaurants are going to be struggling more – and this action would result in more money remaining in the hands of local businesses, during this time.

Additionally, Grubhub also has a “Donate the Change” program, the proceeds of which go towards a partnership with No Kid Hungry. During this time, money from those donations will go towards a Community Relief Fund which will aim to help restaurants and drivers impacted by COVID-19.

As an employee who’s attended numerous Town Hall meetings where Matt’s spoken… I’ve always enjoyed hearing his thinking, his strategies, and his approach to tackling problems. I’m happy to hear that Grubhub is helping local businesses in this financial way, and I’m also happy that others outside of the company get to experience hearing him speak.

For details, you can read the official press release.

Related:
Working Remote
Joining Grubhub