DwellSocial

DwellSocial is a community catering and group-ordering platform that delivers food from Chicago restaurants to suburban households that fall outside the service radius of on-demand delivery apps. Rather than operating on demand, the company organizes scheduled "events": a given restaurant is paired with a community on a set date, customers browse the event by zip code on the website or the company's iOS app, reserve a spot, select menu items and place an order in advance. Orders are aggregated, delivery routes are planned after orders close, and customers receive a delivery window plus driver tracking on the day.

Food is prepared and packaged by the partner restaurant to be finish-cooked or reheated at home, with instructions provided, which the company presents as an alternative to lukewarm on-demand delivery; it does not use ghost kitchens. Delivery ranges are long by delivery-app standards, with the restaurant-facing page citing distances as far as 25 miles and the customer FAQ citing events up to 40 miles from a restaurant. Named restaurant partners include Frontera Grill, Manny's Deli, Pequod's Pizza and Do-Rite Donuts. The company also runs special and seasonal programming, including holiday brunches, summer Ravinia meals and fundraising campaigns for PTAs, PTOs, religious congregations and other community organizations.

Originally launched in 2017 with a focus on homeowners, the business was redirected during the COVID-19 pandemic toward supporting Chicago restaurants, and had begun suburban restaurant delivery by 2020. An earlier centralized pickup model, created when customers were home more and roads were less congested, was later discontinued in favor of wider home-delivery zones.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Allen Shulman spent fifteen years as a custom builder on Chicago's North Shore. During the 2008-2010 recession he started BrightNest, a company focused on helping people care for their homes, which was acquired by Angie's List in 2013; he worked there afterward before launching DwellSocial in 2017, again oriented toward homeowners.

Business model

DwellSocial aggregates consumer demand in a suburban community around a scheduled restaurant event, then handles marketing, order collection and delivery logistics on behalf of the restaurant. Restaurants cook and package the food; DwellSocial's team helps build the event menu, proposes a calendar, co-markets through email, social and paid channels, and operates the delivery routes. Group efficiency is the stated basis for reaching areas far beyond normal delivery radii at lower cost.

Revenue comes from a commission taken from restaurant partners, which the company states is a smaller percentage of sales than on-demand delivery apps, plus consumer-side fees: a $5 DwellSocial service fee per delivery day (charged once even when a customer places multiple orders that day, under a "Twice Is Nice" policy) and a 20% driver support fee charged in lieu of tipping. Tax is passed through. The company also sells a paid monthly VIP membership offering discounts and other benefits.

Traction

Company materials cite more than 50 restaurant partners and more than 300 restaurant events organized per month, with named partners including Frontera Grill, Manny's Deli, Pequod's Pizza and Do-Rite Donuts. In a March 2023 interview the CEO described serving customers from across the Chicago suburbs three years after the pivot. A paid VIP membership tier and an iOS app are in market.

Latest developments

Recent additions include a paid monthly VIP membership offering member discounts and benefits, the "Twice Is Nice" policy waiving the $5 fee on additional same-day orders, the replacement of tipping with a 20% driver support fee, and the retirement of centralized pickup locations in favor of broader home-delivery zones. The company has also expanded community fundraising programming, following a March 2023 Do-Rite Donuts March Madness campaign for school groups with plans for further fundraisers and food-pantry initiatives.