News Tag: Corporate

The Product Dish: How Grubhub Built Its First Marketplace Robot Delivery Experience with Avride

To showcase the product innovation work happening across Grubhub, we are taking a closer look at the technology and product initiatives improving how customers, merchants, and partners connect through our platform.

Autonomous delivery has been part of Grubhub’s campus ecosystem for several years, and in October, we launched our first non-campus autonomous delivery pilot in Jersey City with Avride, marking an important milestone in our autonomous fulfillment efforts. 

Autonomous delivery has already shown strong potential in campus environments. However, its long-term impact depends on how it performs in the complexity of the broader marketplace, where most Grubhub orders take place. Expanding robot delivery into the open marketplace introduces a different set of product, technical, and operational considerations.

Campus environments tend to be more controlled, with defined geographies, predictable demand patterns, and standardized infrastructure. Marketplace delivery introduces a wider range of variables, including diverse merchant types, residential building formats, curbside conditions, and navigating dense urban areas.

With this pilot, we aimed to understand how autonomous delivery could support:

  • Improved delivery efficiency in dense urban areas
  • A differentiated customer experience through increased visibility and predictability
  • Future autonomous delivery formats

What’s new?

This pilot introduces new platform and product capabilities across the diner, merchant, and internal operations experience.

  1. Robot delivery as a first-class fulfillment option: Robot delivery appears as a standard option at checkout on Grubhub for all orders from Wonder’s Jersey City location. After checkout, our system evaluates real-time eligibility based on delivery address, robot availability, and service conditions. If a robot is available, the order is fulfilled autonomously. If not, it seamlessly falls back to a traditional courier.
  2. Real-time autonomous tracking on order tracking: Once assigned, diners can track their robot’s live location directly on Grubhub’s order tracking page. We extended our existing courier map and status systems to support autonomous vehicle telemetry, including robot-specific delivery states.
  3. Secure, app-based handoff: When the robot arrives, diners receive an in-app flow to unlock the robot, retrieve their food, and confirm closure. This enables a secure, fully self-service handoff experience.
  4. Merchant-side robot fulfillment tools: Wonder staff use Avride-provided tablets for robot dispatch, loading, and readiness tracking to support smooth preparation and launch of each autonomous delivery.
  5. Care enablement and edge-case flows: We established a dedicated group within our existing Customer Care organization to support autonomous delivery scenarios. This team was equipped with new workflows for robot-specific cases, including unlock issues, unresponsive diners, and robot malfunctions, extending our support systems to handle autonomy-related edge cases as we scale. Avride also escalates real-time robot and delivery issues to Grubhub through a dedicated communication channel. This allows our Care and Operations teams to coordinate and respond quickly during live incidents.

How does it work?

Robot delivery on Grubhub starts at checkout, where diners ordering from Wonder’s Jersey City location see robot delivery as an option. After checkout, our backend evaluates real-time factors, such as distance, service constraints, and robot availability, to determine whether the order will be assigned to a robot or routed to a standard courier.

Once assigned, the order flows through Grubhub’s fulfillment orchestration system and is dispatched via Avride’s platform. Wonder staff prepare and load the order into the robot using Avride’s tablet system before departure. As the robot navigates the delivery route, Avride streams real-time location and status data into Grubhub, powering live map tracking and delivery updates in the app. When the robot arrives, the diner unlocks it through the app, retrieves their food, and closes the compartment, allowing the robot to return to the restaurant for its next delivery.

How we partnered with Avride and Wonder

Launching autonomous delivery in the marketplace required close product, engineering, and operational collaboration across teams. In the weeks leading up to launch, Grubhub’s Product, Engineering, and Operations teams worked closely with both Avride and Wonder through recurring cross-functional sessions focused on system design, API integration, and operational readiness.

On the technical side, teams collaborated directly on integrating Avride’s dispatch and telemetry APIs into Grubhub’s fulfillment orchestration and order tracking systems. This included aligning on shared status models, error handling, robot assignment logic, and fallback workflows.

Operationally, we conducted nearly four weeks of structured pre-launch testing. These sessions allowed us to run end-to-end simulations, from order placement and merchant loading to autonomous navigation and diner handoff, under real delivery conditions.

This partnership enabled faster iteration, surfaced edge cases early, and helped ensure both the technical systems and on-the-ground operations were ready before opening the experience to diners.

What’s next?

This pilot will help inform how we scale autonomous delivery across Grubhub’s broader marketplace. Next steps include:

  • Expanding to additional markets
  • Iterating based on diner, merchant, and operational feedback
  • Enhancing ETA modeling, fallback handling, and concurrency management

Autonomous delivery is an important part of Grubhub’s long-term approach to last-mile fulfillment. Through pilots like this one, we continue to learn, iterate, and build the systems needed to support new delivery formats while maintaining reliability and performance for diners and merchants.

Want to be part of the magic behind our product launches? Explore our open Product roles here!

Voices of Grubhub: Jim Osborne, Vice President of Restaurants, on Building Strong Partnerships, Growing Grubhub’s Marketplace, and Leading with Curiosity

To spotlight different perspectives and give an inside look at Grubhub, we’re highlighting leaders from across the organization. This month, we sat down with Jim Osborne, Vice President of Restaurants, to hear how he’s strengthening relationships with restaurant partners, shaping the future of Grubhub’s marketplace, and bringing a “curiosity-first” leadership style to the work ahead.

A quick round to get to know Jim:

  • Favorite Grubhub order: I’m a big fan of Mino’s, a local spot along the North Shore in Chicago, exclusively available on Grubhub. My team actually signed them earlier this year, which was a huge win! Their pizzas, pastas, and salads are a family favorite at my house.
  • Book you’ve read (or listened to) recently that you’d recommend: I’m currently listening to My Effin’ Life, the autobiography of Geddy Lee from Rush. As a Canadian, I grew up on Rush, so it’s been a fun listen on long drives. On the leadership side, my top recommendation is the TED Talk Everyday Leadership by Drew Dudley. It’s six minutes long and incredibly impactful.
  • Coffee or tea: Coffee. Black and plentiful.
  • Favorite way to unwind after a busy week: Sitting on our screened-in porch with my wife, the dogs, a bottle of red wine, good music, and a Grubhub order. That’s my ideal Friday night.
  • Favorite productivity hack: I rely heavily on Siri voice reminders, especially the location-based ones. If I’m out meeting restaurants, I’ll say, “Remind me when I get home to follow up on this.” It keeps the small things from slipping through the cracks.
  • A typical workday: Lots of meetings: with my team, cross-functional partners, and restaurant leaders. It’s a steady rhythm of conversations and problem-solving.
  • A typical weekend: Much more relaxed. My kids are older, so weekends involve projects around the house, time with family, and if the weather cooperates, a round of golf.

You’ve been at Grubhub for a little over a year and a half. What made you want to join?
I spent 12 years at US Foods and fell in love with the restaurant industry. It’s an incredibly tough business with long hours, tight margins, and so much heart. That made me passionate about helping restaurants be more successful.

When I met with Howard, he painted a compelling vision for how Grubhub could do exactly that, and how we were positioned for real growth. I was also drawn to the challenger mindset. Being a challenger means you get to try new things, break things, and move fast. That was exciting and appealing to me. 

You’ve worked across several different companies and industries. What did you learn in those roles that shape how you lead today?
Every company I’ve worked for — Home Depot, Sears, Loblaw, US Foods — had a different culture. Across all of them, three things consistently stood out to me:

  1. The power of relationships: Strong relationships make everything easier — within your team, across the organization, and with customers. Trust allows for real conversations and faster problem-solving.
  2. Passion: I look for people who genuinely love what they do and bring energy to it. Passion shows up in how someone tackles challenges and drives change.
  3. Curiosity: People often define sales as “always be closing,” but my version is always be curious. Curiosity pushes you to ask better questions, explore new solutions, and think differently about how to help restaurants succeed.

Tell us about the Merchant Network team. What are the core responsibilities and focus areas?
Our team manages the restaurant side of Grubhub’s marketplace — the full network of merchants that powers our platform. This includes:

  • Signing great restaurants of all sizes
  • Growing and strengthening existing partnerships
  • Supporting restaurants with their operational success
  • Retaining partners by delivering value, reliability, and strong relationships
  • Managing everything from neighborhood independents to national brands

At the end of the day, our job is to ensure diners find the restaurants they love, and to help those restaurants grow their business on Grubhub.

What are some notable restaurant wins from this year that you’re proud of?
We’ve had tremendous success nationwide, but New York has been a major focus and proof point. This year, we signed some incredible names, including John’s of Bleecker Street, Momoya, Jack’s Wife Freda, Nami Nori, and Anthony & Sons Panini Shoppe. These are iconic spots that help strengthen our leadership position in the market.

But it’s not just New York. We’ve added incredible restaurants and meaningfully improved the assortment across the entire country. One story that really stands out to me is a long-running family deli in New Jersey. They’ve operated the same way for decades with phone orders, a fax machine, and a small storefront that locals know by heart. They are cash only, and if someone called in an order and didn’t make it in before closing time, they’d literally leave the sandwich at the pharmacy across the street and settle up next time.

Seeing a place like that embrace Grubhub for pickup — and immediately reach a new set of customers — was incredibly rewarding. It’s such a powerful reminder of why our work matters. Whether it’s a national enterprise brand or a multigenerational independent, we can help restaurants grow in ways they never could before.

Enterprise is an important part of our marketplace. How is your team nurturing relationships in that space?
With enterprise, we largely have the supply, but the unlock now is demand generation. That means deepening relationships, expanding locations, adding pickup options, partnering on major marketing moments, like the McDonald’s Monopoly program, and leveraging our strong campus presence, where students over-index on enterprise brands. 

We’ve made great progress, and there’s a lot more opportunity to accelerate heading into 2026.

How do you balance the focus on New York with growing supply in other cities?
New York has been a key focus and an important testbed, but we’ve been expanding supply everywhere. In fact, so far in 2025, we’ve signed up restaurants in over 7,300 cities and communities across the US.  

With national partnerships like Amazon and Instacart, plus big moments coming in 2026 like a commercial during the Big Game, it’s important to keep building our supply everywhere. We want diners in every city to open the app and see fantastic choices

Why are relationships with restaurants so important to Grubhub’s success?
In this industry, relationships are everything. For independents, it’s about the trust built over time. For enterprise brands, it’s about consistency, partnership, and being easy to work with. A great example: We recently received a letter from one of our top 25 restaurant partners in the country, and he spoke so powerfully about how the relationship with our team and hands-on support have helped his business thrive. That conversation really reinforced for me that these relationships aren’t just nice to have; they’re core to Grubhub’s success, to restaurant loyalty, and to what makes our marketplace stronger.

What are you most proud of your team for this year?
Their resilience and versatility. We’ve pivoted multiple times — leaning into New York, expanding supply nationally, navigating the end of fee caps in NYC, and supporting major partner changes. The team has handled every shift with ownership and energy. Their ability to adapt and keep delivering is what I’m most proud of.

What’s the best piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?
Two pieces have stuck with me: “You have two ears and one mouth — use them in that proportion.” A good reminder to listen first.

“Assume positive intent.” It’s easy to get defensive. If you pause and assume the other person is coming from the right place, the conversation completely changes.

How have you evolved as a leader over time?
Early in my career, I focused mostly on my direct team. Over time — especially during COVID — I realized the importance of connecting more broadly.

I started scheduling 15-minute skip-levels with people at all levels. Sometimes we talked strategy; sometimes it was what they were watching on Netflix. It wasn’t formal mentorship, it was connection. And it helped people feel part of something bigger. I still try to prioritize that today.

You’ve developed a reputation for turning strategy into action. How do you approach that with your teams?
One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Thomas Edison: “Strategy without execution is hallucination.”

The strategy aligns us, but execution is where the work happens. To me, that means being clear on direction, empowering people to act like owners, staying curious, and focusing on getting things done. I’m a big believer in GSD — “get shit done.” That’s how points get on the scoreboard.

What excites you most about where we’re headed in 2026?
I’m wildly optimistic. We’re seeing sparks everywhere — order growth, new restaurant wins, the Instacart partnership, and a major media plan coming together. The momentum is real. We’re on the right path, and now it’s about accelerating.

If you could have any other job at Grubhub or Wonder for a day, what would it be and why?
I’d trade places with Marnie Kain (VP, Head of Brand), but only on a specific day — either when she gets to see all the commercial pitches for the Big Game, or the day she’s on set filming the commercial. That would be incredible.

Voices of Grubhub: Hayley Pedrick, Vice President of Corporate Accounts, on Building Teams and Leadership, Staying Resilient Under Pressure, and Driving Growth and Strategy

To spotlight different perspectives and give an inside look at Grubhub, we’re highlighting leaders from across the organization. This month, we sat down with Hayley Pedrick, Vice President of Corporate Accounts, to hear how she’s energizing her team for growth, shaping a long-term strategy for the business, and finding new ways to blend Grubhub and Wonder together to meet corporate customers’ evolving needs.


A quick round to get to know Hayley:

  • Favorite Grubhub order: I love Thai Kit in Connecticut (near where I live). I order a double order of mango & sticky rice since I like it too much to share.
  • Book you’ve read recently that you’d recommend: The Overstory by Richard Powers — it’s so different from what I usually read. A former coworker who used to work for the National Forest Service recommended it as ‘the tree book,’ and it completely pulled me in. It follows a handful of people — conservationists, researchers, everyday folks — and weaves their lives together through their relationships with trees. It made me think about nature and change in a completely different way.
  • Coffee or tea: Usually neither. I don’t drink much caffeine … although, since having my second child, Diet Coke has made a comeback.
  • Favorite way to unwind after a busy week: I actually use the week to unwind from the weekend — a couple hours in Excel on Monday is my ideal unwinding version.
  • Favorite productivity hack: I’m obsessed with Google’s NotebookLM. It’s not just a summary tool, it’s like having a personal researcher. You can drop in background materials, ask it to create a 15-minute podcast or summary on a topic, and listen while you’re commuting or walking the dog. When you’re ramping up on something new — say, a partnership area or industry trend — it pulls from multiple sources and distills what matters most. It saves hours of prep time and helps me absorb context quickly so I can focus on making decisions instead of just gathering information.
  • A typical work day: Keeping everyone alive and fed! But actually, with two kids (2½ and 6 months) and our lab/shepherd rescue, it takes hours to get everyone out the door. I work best in the morning, so anything big I need to get done I’ll do in the morning during my “heads down” time. From there, my day is usually filled with meetings until the kids come home, family time and then I’ll finish up anything I need to from the couch once they are asleep. 

You’re relatively new to Grubhub. What made you want to join?
The vision and energy around it were huge for me. Marc’s path for the company is ambitious but doable. It makes sense, and you can see how to get there step by step. I was energized by how much people believe in where we’re headed and how every team is connected to that growth story.

What’s something that’s surprised you so far, either about the Corporate Accounts team or Grubhub overall?
The resilience of the team. Grubhub’s been through a lot of change over the past several years — and still, people are positive, focused, and ready to go back into growth mode. Every month brings something new, and the team just keeps moving forward.

You’ve worked in both consulting and startups. What did you learn in those roles that shapes how you lead today?
At Bain, I focused on five-to-ten-year strategy projects and M&A work — that taught me how to take a 15,000-foot view of markets and growth plans. Then at Brightwheel, I learned how critical people are to making that strategy actually work. You can’t just put a vision on a slide; you need the right people in the right roles who believe in it and own it.

What are your top priorities for the Corporate Accounts team?
The first priority was people — filling open roles and getting the right leaders in place. From there, the focus has been on both short-term execution and long-term strategy, whether that means improving inbound processes or laying the groundwork for transforming how Grubhub serves businesses. We’re also beginning to heavily invest in team development — growing leadership capabilities and building a stronger internal pipeline so the team is ready when new opportunities arise. It’s about building capability and confidence while delivering results in real time.

All three of these priorities are happening at once, which makes the work both challenging and exciting.

How can Grubhub differentiate in the corporate food space?
Everyone offers the same core products — line of credit, group orders, catering — so true differentiation comes from being the best at solving the underlying customer pain points – attracting and retaining talent, streamlining operations and cutting costs. I can’t go into too much detail now, but we’ll have some exciting news to share next year.

How does being part of Wonder help support that strategy?
It opens a lot of doors. The breadth of what’s being built across Wonder creates new possibilities for what we can do for our corporate customers. Grubhub alone could have grown Corporate Accounts, but Wonder’s ecosystem lets us move faster and serve more needs with one integrated offering.

What’s the best piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?
“Stop waiting for someone to give you the plan, go make the plan.”

That’s been core for me. No matter your level or tenure, understand what the company and your team need, build your own plan, and bring it forward. If you wait for direction, you won’t learn as quickly or drive as much impact.

A fun fact about you is that you once spent time as a scuba instructor — what did you take away from that experience?
I was! After my time in management consulting, I took a few months off and became a dive master in Indonesia where I led groups and taught lessons. It was an incredible experience, and it completely changed how I handle pressure. When you’re 100 feet underwater and something goes wrong, panicking doesn’t help anyone. You have to stay calm, read the situation, and guide people to safety.

That mindset translates directly into leadership. When things get tense at work, I remind myself that this isn’t life or death. Take a breath, stay grounded, and focus on solving the problem the right way. It’s about creating calm so others can think clearly, too. That allows us to do better and do more.

If you could have any other job at Grubhub for a day, what would it be and why?
Finance in an FP&A role. I love spreadsheets and the strategic side of finance, but only for a day! 

Grubhub Partners with Instacart to Expand Grocery Options on Its Platform

Grubhub customers can now order from Instacart’s network of more than a thousand national, regional, and local retail banners across the U.S.

CHICAGO and SAN FRANCISCO (October 28, 2025)  –  Grubhub and Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) are teaming up to bring a wider selection of grocers, greater convenience, and even better value to Grubhub’s customers. Through this new partnership, Grubhub customers can order from Instacart’s network of more than a thousand national, regional, and local grocery retailers directly through Grubhub’s app and website.

The experience is hosted on Grubhub’s platform, and orders are fulfilled and delivered by Instacart shoppers. To start shopping, customers tap the Grocery icon in the Grubhub app, select a nearby store, add items to their cart, and check out – all while tracking their delivery in real time, just as they would with a traditional Grubhub or Instacart order. The experience begins rolling out on Grubhub today and will be available nationwide where Instacart grocery retailers and services are available by the end of October. Customers will also have access to order from select pharmacies through this partnership in the coming months.

 

“This partnership marks an exciting step forward for Grubhub,” said Howard Migdal, CEO of Grubhub. “With nearly 20 million customers and access to over 415,000 restaurants, we’re now expanding our platform to include groceries powered by Instacart – delivering an unmatched level of choice and value. As we strengthen our grocery offering, our Grubhub+ program – already best-in-class for restaurant delivery – becomes even more powerful. By integrating Instacart into our platform, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to get everything they need, from their favorite meals to everyday essentials.”

“We’re proud to serve as Grubhub’s grocery delivery partner, bringing the Instacart grocery experience directly to millions of Grubhub customers,” said Ryan Hamburger, Vice President of Commercial Partnerships at Instacart. “With our unmatched selection of grocers and our leading technology and fulfillment capabilities, we’re helping Grubhub expand its platform and reach. It’s another way we’re a true grocery technology enablement company – continuously driving value for our retail partners by powering seamless grocery experiences wherever people shop online.”

To celebrate the partnership, Grubhub+ members can enjoy special savings – including $0 standard delivery fees on eligible grocery orders of $25 or more from participating retailers. Plus, all customers can get 30% off up to three grocery orders of $75 or more for the next three months.

About Grubhub

Grubhub is a leading U.S. ordering and delivery marketplace dedicated to connecting customers with their favorite local restaurants, merchants and convenience retailers. Grubhub elevates online ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms, and an improved delivery experience. Part of Wonder Group, Grubhub features over 415,000 merchants in more than 4,000 U.S. cities.

About Instacart 

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for approximately 600,000 Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. Maplebear Inc. is the registered corporate name of Instacart.

For Grubhub: press@grubhub.com

For Instacart: press@instacart.com

Grubhub Expands Partnership with Avride to Bring Autonomous Delivery Robots to Its Marketplace

CHICAGO and AUSTIN, TX (October 23, 2025) – Grubhub is expanding its partnership with Avride to launch a robot delivery pilot for customers ordering from Wonder’s Jersey City location. The initiative marks the first time Grubhub has offered autonomous delivery in its marketplace outside of college campuses — and the first time Wonder is bringing robot delivery to its customers.

During the pilot, customers can place orders from Wonder’s Jersey City location through the Grubhub platform as usual. If an eligible delivery address is within a set range of the restaurant, they will have the option to choose delivery via an Avride robot.

Wonder’s unique multi-restaurant model makes it an ideal partner to launch this pilot. Diners can choose from more than 20 different restaurant concepts — including Alanza, Tejas Barbecue, Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson — with every dish made to order in a Wonder storefront and delivered fast and free. This combination of speed, variety, and quality makes for a seamless experience that pairs perfectly with the efficiency of robot delivery.

Following the pilot, Grubhub plans to implement any learnings and expand autonomous delivery to additional markets nationwide, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and delivering an even faster, more reliable experience for customers everywhere.

“This pilot represents the next step in our mission to provide diners with fast, reliable, and delightful delivery experiences,” said PJ Poykayil, SVP of Customer Delivery Operations at Wonder and Grubhub.“By combining Grubhub’s marketplace, Wonder’s culinary innovation, and Avride’s advanced robotics, we’re delivering the future of convenience.”

The pilot will feature Avride’s most advanced delivery robots to date, guided by AI-powered autonomous driving technology, proven in challenging urban environments and diverse weather conditions to enable real-time navigation decisions with accuracy and reliability. Equipped with a precision-engineered four-wheel chassis capable of near-instant 180-degree turns and exceptional maneuverability, the robots ensure smooth, efficient deliveries even on the busy city sidewalks.

“We’re proud to be Grubhub’s trusted partner as they bring robot delivery beyond campuses for the very first time. For Avride, this marks an important step in expanding robotic delivery. Going beyond traditional restaurant or grocery delivery, it highlights how seamlessly our technology can integrate with innovative platforms like Wonder’s, opening up new business verticals for autonomous delivery,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO Avride.

Grubhub and Avride have already built a strong foundation through their campus partnerships over the last year. They have completed more than 100,000 robot deliveries across U.S. campuses, including The Ohio State University — home to the largest single-site robot food delivery program in the country, where a fleet of over 120 robots delivers meals to students every day.

About Grubhub

Grubhub is a leading U.S. ordering and delivery marketplace dedicated to connecting customers with their favorite local restaurants, merchants and convenience retailers. Grubhub elevates online ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms, and an improved delivery experience. Part of Wonder Group, Grubhub features over 415,000 merchants in more than 4,000 U.S. cities.

About Avride

Avride is a U.S.-based autonomous vehicle startup headquartered in Austin, TX, with additional R&D hubs around the world. The company develops and operates both autonomous cars and delivery robots that share technologies and mutually benefit from each other’s advancements — a unique approach in the industry. Since 2017, Avride has been building expertise in autonomous technologies to create solutions that address current needs and anticipate future demands. Its delivery robots have already completed hundreds of thousands of orders in the U.S. and overseas, proving the scalability and reliability of Avride’s technology.

Block and Grubhub Partner to Scale Restaurant Operations and Enhance Consumer Payment Experience

Square’s native integration and Cash App Pay create seamless experience for both restaurants and diners

DISTRIBUTED-WORK-MODEL/OAKLAND, CA and CHICAGO – October 14, 2025 – Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) today announced a comprehensive partnership with Grubhub that upgrades restaurants’ food ordering ecosystem through an integration with Square’s point-of-sale system and the addition of Cash App Pay as a payment option for Grubhub customers. This partnership demonstrates the power of Block’s ecosystem to solve pain points for both restaurants and customers, while expanding access to millions of potential customers for restaurants.

The integration introduces two key features to the food ordering landscape. First, Square’s integration with Grubhub, announced at Square Releases last week, helps eliminate operational complexity for restaurants by enabling them to manage all orders directly through their Square point-of-sale system. Second, the addition of Cash App Pay as a payment option gives millions of Grubhub customers more flexibility in how they pay for their orders.

“At Grubhub, we’re always looking for ways to help restaurants simplify operations and reach more diners,” said Howard Migdal, CEO at Grubhub. “By integrating directly with Square’s point-of-sale system, we’re removing friction for restaurants so they can manage all their orders in one place, streamline kitchen workflows, and keep menus up to date with ease. And with the addition of Cash App Pay, we’re giving diners even more flexibility and convenience at checkout — all while helping restaurants tap into a new audience of potential customers.”

Square’s seamless Grubhub integration enables restaurants to:

  • Manage all orders directly through their Square POS system, eliminating the need for additional tablets
  • Control menus, modifiers, and inventory across channels from a single dashboard
  • Send orders directly to the kitchen, reducing errors and streamlining operations
  • Access Instant Payouts to maintain steady cash flow
  • Reach millions of Grubhub customers while maintaining operational efficiency

The integration of Cash App Pay provides diners with:

  • A new seamless payment option when checking out on Grubhub
  • Special offers and promotions for Cash App Pay customers
  • Enhanced payment flexibility and convenience

“This partnership showcases Block’s unique ability to drive value for both sellers and customers by serving both sides of the counter,” said Nick Molnar, Global Head of Sales and Marketing at Block. “By uniting Square’s operational capabilities with Cash App’s flexible payment technology, we’re creating a commerce ecosystem that benefits everyone, where restaurants can focus on delivering quality while giving customers more ways to pay.”

This partnership underscores both Grubhub’s and Block’s commitment to innovation, supporting sellers and customers with intuitive technology that makes both running a business and paying for services easier – strengthening local communities in the process. 

About Grubhub

Grubhub is a leading U.S. ordering and delivery marketplace dedicated to connecting customers with their favorite local restaurants, merchants and convenience retailers. Grubhub elevates online ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms, and an improved delivery experience. Part of Wonder Group, Grubhub features over 415,000 merchants in more than 4,000 U.S. cities.

About Block, Inc.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) builds technology to increase access to the global economy. Each of our brands unlocks different aspects of the economy for more people. Square makes commerce and financial services accessible to sellers. Cash App is the easy way to spend, send, and store money. Afterpay is transforming the way customers manage their spending over time. TIDAL is a music platform that empowers artists to thrive as entrepreneurs. Bitkey is a simple self-custody wallet built for bitcoin. Proto is a suite of bitcoin mining products and services. Together, we’re helping build a financial system that is open to everyone.

The Product Dish: Enhancing Flexibility of Item Restrictions within the Corporate Admin Portal

To showcase the product innovation work that Grubhub’s Product teams are supporting, we’re taking a closer look at the technology and product projects that improve the way customers, merchants, and partners connect through Grubhub.

Grubhub launched a comprehensive Item Restriction feature that gives corporate clients increased control over how their meal program funds are utilized. Prior to launching this feature, admins could not set restrictions on categories such as groceries and snacks, household supplies, alcohol, and other non-food items.

This new capability was informed by extensive Voice of Customer research involving 50+ corporate clients representing over $250 million in gross food sales, many of whom were at risk of churn due to the lack of spending controls. These enterprise accounts drive significant “restricted” budget activation, accounting for more than 50 percent of line of credit gross food sales in 2023/2024, demonstrating strong demand for customizable meal program parameters.

This increased flexibility of item restriction helps ensure company-funded orders align with corporate policies while maintaining employee satisfaction and program engagement. By introducing item-level restrictions alongside existing merchant controls, Grubhub is the only platform providing both merchant and item-level meal credit restrictions, creating a key competitive differentiation in the corporate dining space.

What’s new?

This new capability allows administrators to restrict purchases of non-food items, groceries and snacks, household supplies, durable goods, and over-the-counter products—ensuring corporate meal benefits are used as intended. Key updates include:

  • Comprehensive Item Categorization: We’ve enabled tax category tagging across 95% of marketplace items, classifying them into restriction-eligible categories to enable precise policy enforcement without manual merchant intervention.
  • Compliance and Audit Readiness: The feature supports regulatory requirements across industries like financial services, healthcare, and collegiate athletics by proactively blocking prohibited purchases and providing care agents with full restriction visibility for streamlined case resolution.

What’s next?

Looking ahead, the Grubhub Product team is exploring opportunities to bring these flexible item restriction capabilities to campus business units, with planned support across all platforms including web, mobile web, iOS, and Android. This expansion would further strengthen Grubhub’s position in the institutional dining space.

Want to be part of the magic behind our product launches? Explore our open Product roles here!

Voices of Grubhub: Ali Motto, Senior Director of Product Operations, Design Operations & UXR, on Turning Feedback into Strategy and Building Processes that Fuel Collaboration and Accelerate Execution

To spotlight different perspectives and give an inside look at Grubhub, we’re highlighting leaders from across the organization. This month, we sat down with Ali Motto, Senior Director of Product Operations, Design Operations & UXR, to hear how she’s transforming product planning and alignment, amplifying the customer voice, and building trust across teams.

A quick round to get to know Ali:

  • Favorite Grubhub order: Chicken parm with a side of rigatoni from Previti Pizza on Long Island. When I moved to a new town and realized it was still in my delivery range, I was absolutely thrilled.
  • Book you’ve read recently that you’d recommend: Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy. As a toddler parent, it’s become my go-to manual. It’s completely reframed how I approach tough conversations and situations with my kids while also reinforcing the importance of taking care of myself along the way.
  • Coffee or tea: Coffee 100%. I’m the person who will walk through a snowstorm holding an iced coffee. My go-to is an iced caramel latte with almond milk.
  • Favorite way to unwind after a busy week: Either a workout class—I love F45 and SoulCycle—or a dinner with my husband if we can get a babysitter!
  • Favorite productivity hack: I am a handwritten list person through and through. There is nothing more satisfying than crossing something off with a pen. It keeps me focused and gives me a real sense of progress.
  • A typical work day: I usually start before 6 a.m. with a workout, then it is the morning rush of getting my kids ready and dropping them off at childcare. After that, it is a full day of meetings, planning, and deliverables before it’s shifting back into mom mode in the evening. Once my kids are asleep, I’ll usually log back on to continue working for a bit before winding down for the night and watching a documentary with my husband.
  • Weekend routine: Weekends are my family time. I try to be fully present with my kids, taking them to the park, birthday parties, or even Home Depot, which they love. In the summer, we love taking the water taxi around the harbor which has become a special tradition of ours. Once they’re in bed, I’ll do something like listen to a book on Audible while doing laundry. If you can’t tell yet by my answers, I am not great at sitting still.

You’ve had an impressive career in product operations across some major tech companies — Google, Uber, Etsy, and now Grubhub. What initially drew you to product operations, and how did you end up at Grubhub?
My interest in product operations started over a decade ago in college when I worked for Jerry Colonna, a venture capitalist and executive coach. Many of his clients were tech CEOs, and that sparked my curiosity about the industry.

After graduation, I joined Etsy, where I bridged the gap between product teams and sellers — translating launches and advocating for seller needs. That experience cemented my love for product and set me on a path of learning: at Google, I supported global Virtual Reality product launches; at Uber, I built cross-domain processes; and at Better, I created the first Product Operations PMO team, scaling it from one to 13. Each move allowed me to work with great teams, tackle new challenges, and expand my toolkit.

Over three years ago, I came to Grubhub, drawn by the challenge of a three-sided marketplace and the people. Our kind, collaborative culture makes us faster and better — solving problems is easier, alignment comes quicker, and the work itself feels more meaningful when you genuinely enjoy the people you work with.

Your role spans Product Operations, Design Operations, and UXR — that’s a lot of ground to cover. Can you walk us through what each of these areas involves and how they work together?
It is definitely a wide scope, but that’s what makes it exciting. Each of these areas plays a different role, but they are deeply connected in how we build and launch products.

  • Product Operations is about creating the frameworks, processes, and rhythms that give our product teams clarity and discipline. That includes planning cycles, product brief templates, launch readiness, go-to-market playbooks, tracking adoption, and integrating AI tooling to streamline workflows and enhance decision-making.
  • Design Operations makes sure our design teams can move quickly and consistently across the product development lifecycle, whether that means giving them access to new AI tools or creating standardized ways of working.
  • User Experience Research helps us keep the customer at the center of everything. UXR uncovers needs, tests concepts, and ensures that our solutions resonate in the real world.

Together, these three areas function like parts of the same engine. UXR grounds us in customer insights, Design Ops scales and supports the design function, and Product Ops connects strategy to execution. It is less about three separate functions and more about one operating model that helps Product, Design, and Engineering deliver the right things in the right way at the right time.

You lead what you call “the connective tissue” between Product, Design, Engineering, and other cross-functional partners. What does that actually look like day-to-day?
My team owns the product roadmap process and partners with Engineering on capacity management to ensure priorities match resources. We drive alignment through quarterly and annual strategy decks and build visibility with newsletters, demo days, and release channels that show our entire organization what’s being built and launched.

We also make sure insights from cross-functional partners feed into the roadmap so everyone is working from the same playbook. No two days are alike — one might be spent in Jira planning, the next developing a new go-to-market playbook. At the core, my team is the glue that connects the moving parts so others can focus on delivering great products.

What’s something about Product Operations that most people at Grubhub might not realize or understand?
A lot of what we do happens behind the scenes. If we are doing our jobs well, things just feel seamless. Planning runs smoothly, launches happen on time, and everyone feels aligned on priorities. What people may not see is the coordination, framework building, and cross-functional alignment it takes to make that possible.

And Product Ops is not just about process for the sake of process. We are here to make sure the right work is resourced, customer insights shape the roadmap, and every launch has measurable impact. When we are at our best, people may not even realize Product Ops is behind it — things simply work the way they should.

One of your biggest achievements has been completely revamping how we plan our PDE roadmap at Grubhub. Can you tell us about that transformation?
When I joined over three years ago, roadmap planning across Product, Design, and Engineering was siloed — with different tools, approaches, and tracking methods. We lacked a clear view of priorities, and cross-functional teams struggled to anticipate what was coming or where to give input.

We completely redesigned the process: standardizing the planning cycle and timeline, creating a single source of truth in Jira, adding capacity checks with leadership and Engineering, and building transparency through quarterly/annual strategy decks and knowledge sharing anchored in UXR and data.

The result is a disciplined, consistent roadmap process tied directly to customer needs and business priorities. Leaders see the big picture, teams plan effectively, and launches happen with alignment. 

Is there a particular project or initiative you’re working on right now that you’re most excited about?
I am genuinely excited about the work we are doing with Wonder. From the start, it has felt energizing and collaborative. One of the first things my team did was adapt our product brief template for their product growth team so they had a consistent framework to define and evaluate initiatives. Now, we are bringing our planning cycles together for the first time, which is a huge step toward shared roadmaps and priorities.

What excites me most is how much we are learning from each other. Wonder brings a startup-like pace and perspective, and we bring systems and processes that create clarity at scale. Aligning those strengths is not just about process — it is about creating a shared foundation for how we build products. It really feels like a “two brains are better than one” moment, and I cannot wait to see what more we can accomplish together.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten, and how has it stuck with you as a leader?
I’ve worked with the same career coach, Burju Erdem, for over five years, and her constant reminder of the power of gratitude and affirmation has shaped how I lead. I try to listen deeply, solve problems, celebrate wins, and recognize contributions, which builds the trust that makes both structure and creativity possible. When people feel valued, they’re more willing to take risks, fail fast, and keep moving. Gratitude and kindness create the environment for technical and creative work without fear of mistakes, while process provides clarity — but it’s trust that makes those systems work and fuels innovation.

If you could have any other job in the company for a day, what would it be and why?
I would love to spend a day in PR. In a way, I already joke that I am the internal PR rep for Product, Design, and Analytics, but I have always been fascinated by how storytelling and messaging shape how people perceive a company and its products.

The Product Dish: Expanding Grubhub’s On- and Off-Campus Dining Through Red Card Athletics Integration

To showcase the product innovation work that Grubhub’s Product teams are supporting, we’re taking a closer look at the technology and product projects that improve the way customers, merchants, and partners connect through Grubhub.

Grubhub and Red Card Athletics launched a new partnership that allows student athletes to use their Red Card funds at dietitian-approved restaurants through the Grubhub platform. Red Card is a leader in mobile technology that helps athletic departments feed their athletes, track food, and stay on budget, currently working with more than 100 athletic departments across the country. 

By integrating with Grubhub’s platform, this partnership gives athletes more access and convenience, enabling them to use their Red Card funds both on and off campus. Historically, Red Card usage required on-premise hardware at participating merchants, limiting adoption and merchant choice. 

What’s new?

We’ve unlocked new product capabilities by adding Red Card Athletics as a new tender type in Grubhub, enabling on-campus and off-campus ordering for student-athletes, with streamlined onboarding, no hardware requirements, and Grubhub+ benefits. Key updates include: 

  • Enhanced Onboarding Flows: We’ve introduced tailored setup guides in both the Grubhub and Red Card apps for account linking, campus affiliation, and payment activation. We’ve also streamlined the EDU email verification process to ensure athlete eligibility and secure fund access.
  • On-Campus and Off-Campus Flexibility: The integration now works across campus dining programs and local off-campus merchants, giving athletes more choice while maintaining school-approved merchant lists.
  • Geo-Triggered Experience: Students at affiliated campuses receive targeted offers and complimentary Grubhub+ access to encourage personal fund usage, organic discovery, and activation beyond the initial student-athlete scope of the partnership.

How does it work?

The real-time payments integration allows the Red Card tender to be used as a payment method for food and beverages at approved merchants already integrated on the Grubhub platform, helping support hungry athletes with food at all hours of the day in their busy schedule.

  • Student-athletes receive funds allocated from their team and can view real-time balances and accepting locations within the Red Card app. They securely add their Red Card number to their Grubhub account, and when ordering meals, they can select Red Card as their payment method at checkout at dietitian-approved locations. All Red Card Athletes receive complimentary GH+ benefits as part of the partnership benefit.
  • For Athletics Directors and Dietitians, the Red Card dashboard simplifies the process of building, customizing, and distributing meal funds to athletes. It enables compliant food options from on- or off-campus locations without requiring new hardware or extra maintenance, while integrating ordering data and receipts for greater visibility into spending and nutrition. The system also supports tax-exempt certifications, ensuring compliance and maximizing the value of allocated funds.
  • Merchants and Dining Teams benefit from a new rush of captive funds that were previously unavailable with a purely digital integration, while reducing the need for extra hardware or manual receipt collection. On-campus dining locations now have Red Card orders fully integrated into Grubhub’s POS and order flow, eliminating secondary tablets and custom processes. Approved off-campus restaurants are also listed in the app for pickup and delivery, with payments automatically integrated into existing accounting systems.

What’s next?

The Grubhub Product teams are constantly seeking to deliver a revolutionary dining experience for all higher education dining scenarios. This integration is already active at more than 50 higher education institutions. As the school year progresses, we look forward to continued expansion and rolling out new features that make the integration an even better experience for all users. 

Want to be part of the magic behind our product launches? Explore our open Product roles here!

Grubhub Unlocks New Sales Channels and Marketing Tools for Merchants

Grubhub restaurant partners in markets where Wonder operates can now reach more diners directly in the Wonder app.

At Grubhub, we’re always exploring new ways to increase value for the 415,000+ merchants across our platform in more than 4,000 cities nationwide. We’ve recently introduced new features and refreshed our existing brands to create additional marketing channels for merchants that drive visibility and generate more sales for our restaurant partners.

Adding Local Restaurants on Wonder

Tens of thousands of Grubhub merchants in Wonder’s existing markets are now available to customers through the Wonder app. This gives Grubhub merchants access to an additional platform – with no extra work and at no extra cost –  to reach even more customers. By sitting alongside Wonder originals and Blue Apron’s selection of meal kits and prepared meals, Grubhub merchants gain visibility among Wonder’s diner base while still benefiting from the scale and support of the Grubhub platform. 

Relaunching Seamless in New York City 

In April 2025, we relaunched Seamless to harness the long-standing love for the brand in NYC, bolstered by our history serving city residents and the strength of our corporate ordering business. Merchant partners can now market their business across Grubhub and Seamless in the city, creating more value from their Grubhub partnership. With low fees across the network, Seamless offers NYC merchants an additional channel to reach loyal customers in one of the largest markets in the country.

Access to Amazon Storefront 

Last year, we expanded our partnership with Amazon, allowing U.S. Amazon customers to discover and order from Grubhub merchants directly on Amazon.com and in the Amazon Shopping app. This continues today, offering Grubhub merchants access to Amazon’s millions of customers and extending their reach far beyond the Grubhub platform. Through high-traffic retail moments like Prime Day, the Grubhub and Amazon partnership further creates unique opportunities for merchants to capture incremental orders and boost sales.

Leveraging Grubhub For Restaurants

In addition to offering more ordering channels that drive new customers to our Grubhub merchants, we’ve also invested in marketing tools. Our self-service marketing platform, Grubhub For Restaurants, enables partners to manage menus, hours, promotions, orders, and more across both their Grubhub Marketplace listing and Grubhub Direct site, all in one place. Merchants can also tap into regular promo offers like “Treat Yourself Tuesdays” – customers receive up to 20% off their orders –  and “Freebie Fridays” – delicious free items, which help drive more customers and larger orders. 

Specifically in NYC, we refreshed our marketing package for merchants to provide more control and flexibility in how they reach diners. With our all-access package, NYC merchants receive placement on Grubhub and Seamless, no platform or maintenance fees, and visibility to Grubhub+ and Amazon Prime members. It also includes professional menu photos, dedicated account support, monthly ad credit equal to your commission rate for any ads purchased, and up to $500 per month in free promotions to help attract more customers and drive sales.

Each of these initiatives ladders up to one goal: helping Grubhub merchants grow and reach more customers. From unlocking new diners through Wonder and Amazon, to reconnecting with loyal New Yorkers through Seamless, to enhancing our self-service tools with Grubhub for Restaurants, we’re focused on expanding the sales and marketing solutions that keep merchants at the center – because when our partners succeed, we all succeed.