Toronto steps up support of hundreds of local food businesses by offering two weeks of free delivery

With indoor dining banned and patio service dwindling as temperatures drop, Toronto is stepping up to help hundreds of restaurants bring in some extra money.

In May, the city announced the where businesses — not limited to food — could sign up for free to use Ritual’s mobile ordering tool for pickup, Ritual ONE. As an extension of the program, participating restaurants can now access delivery service through DoorDash Drive, where businesses are charged a flat rate rather than a percentage for each order.

As a special offer, starting Monday and running until Nov. 8, delivery will be free for the restaurants and customers.

The aim is to encourage customers to order directly from local businesses and for those businesses to increase their commission-free online sales.

A spokesperson for Ritual says both Ritual and DoorDash are covering the fees that are being waived.

The partnership is welcome relief for the struggling food-service industry, as third-party delivery apps charge hefty commission fees of up to 30 per cent per order. In response, some restaurant owners COVID-19 shutdowns took a swing at profits. In the U.S., cities such as New York, Denver, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Los Angeles have enforced a 10- to 15- per-cent cap on delivery fees from third-party apps such as Uber Eats during the pandemic.

In B.C., it has also become an election issue as both the NDP and Liberal parties if elected.

Skip the Dishes that it is offering a 25 per cent rebate on commissions for restaurants.

Later this week for the city to call on the province to implement a similar limit on commission fees. Toronto doesn’t have the authority to make these calls.

MPP Amanda Simard (Glengarry-Prescott-Russel) has for the province to cap fees at 15 per cent.

“Our restaurants need our support and they need it now … not photo ops of MPPs ordering takeout or the premier asking delivery companies to please, please, please reduce their fees,” Simard said at Queen’s Park last week.

The full list of participating restaurants is available through .

Karon Liu is a Toronto-based food reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: