At a hearing held by the City Council’s Committee on Consumer and Workforce Protection today, Grubhub stood with independent businesses in support of Int. 0813, which would amend New York City’s permanent price control on third-party delivery apps and give restaurants the flexibility to opt into additional marketing and promotional services should they choose to do so. 

The amendment, which also safeguards access to Grubhub and other platforms at accessible low rates, ensures that small and medium-sized restaurants, especially New York City’s family and immigrant-owned businesses, can choose to pay for additional services that allow them to better compete, reach new customers and thrive. 

“Hundreds of restaurants from across the five boroughs have made it clear they support legislation that would allow them to make their own marketing decisions and better compete with big brands,” said Dave Tovar, senior vice president of communications and government relations at Grubhub. “Our restaurant partners choose to buy services like search engine marketing and optimization, loyalty and rewards programs and more through Grubhub, where they are far less expensive and more effective for reaching diners. We urge the City Council to act with urgency in passing this amendment so that restaurants can either retain their current rates or choose to explore other options that work best for their businesses.” 

More than half of the City Council currently cosponsors the bill. Over five hundred restaurants,  alongside the chambers of commerce from the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan and dozens of other civic groups, have also voiced their support for this commonsense change.