When you think of Waffle House, many things come to mind. A package delivery service probably isn't one of them.
But you better get used to that association. Waffle House announced a new partnership with the delivery startup Roadie today, which will entail offering Roadie drivers free food and drinks at the restaurant chain's more than 1,750 locations in 25 states across the U.S.
If you haven't heard of Roadie, you're forgiven. The startup just launched last month. Dubbed "the Uber of package delivery," Roadie lets you enlist drivers to get stuff wherever you need to go. The idea is that they pick it up and bring it along since they're already headed in the same direction.
Now Waffle House will act as a sort of pit stop — or "Roadie Roadhouse," as it's being called — for Roadie drivers to meet with the people that have hired them to transport their cargo or those they're delivering it to. This partnership is the first of its kind for Waffle House, which looks like an effort to get in on the sharing economy that's all the rage these days with online and mobile services like Uber and Airbnb revolutionizing the way we travel, for instance.
"We're just bacon and eggs over here," Waffle House Chief Executive Walt Ehmer told The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the news of the partnership. "I've been amazed with the explosion of Uber and Airbnb and other technology that kind of enables people to get together and conduct business together."
Roadie, which is based in Atlanta, is currently available in 10 states in the Southeast. Prices range from about $12 to $200, depending on the item and the distance to the destination, according to The Wall Street Journal. Roadie drivers receive 80 percent of the price.
The big headline from this partnership is how big of a challenge Roadie will pose to shipping heavyweights like FedEx and UPS. Some of Roadie's prices will be competitive. However, Roadie isn't the first mobile-based delivery service to come about. Shyp and Doorman are two of the more high-profile ones, but they haven't really taken off yet. It's possible that the current delivery giants are just too big for a newbie to take on.
There are also potential legal obstacles, as The Wall Street Journal points out. Even though Roadie has put precautions in place, such as validating drivers' licenses, insuring packages up to $500 and allowing senders to track drivers in real time through the app, there's still the potential for packages to be lost, stolen or damaged. People could also use Roadie to ship illegal cargo, such as drugs. Uber and Airbnb have had their own host of legal problems. Figuring out who's responsible if something does end up going wrong while on Roadie's watch could be a nightmare — and a costly one at that.
Still, getting this kind of backing from a big restaurant chain like Waffle House is a good start. Sweet, savory and crunchy 24/7 breakfast food makes anything look good, at least in the morning.
Image: Sam Howzit / Flickr
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