Uber Eats Gobbles Up Delivery-Only Restaurant Ando

As it seeks to grow its food delivery business, Uber Eats has acquired a New York-based delivery-only restaurant, TechCrunch reported.

The restaurant, Ando, was founded by Momofuku chef David Chang. The company had been working with Uber Eats as a delivery partner, in addition to other delivery services and its own staff, since launching in May 2016. Now, Ando is shutting down its service as it begins to combine with UberEats.

“Starting Jan. 22, 2018, we will no longer be serving customers in New York — online or via our Union Square location — as we will be immediately starting to integrate with Uber Eats,” the company said in an announcement on its website.

Ando hasn’t defined its role at Uber Eats yet.

“We’ve worked with Uber to power our delivery from the start, and we’re excited our team and technology will play a role in their vision of building the world’s leading food delivery service going forward,” the company wrote in its note announcing the sale.

Financial terms of Ando’s deal with Uber Eats were not disclosed, but Ando had previously raised $7 million after being incubated at Expa, which was co-founded by one of Uber’s founders, Garrett Camp.

A large player in the food delivery space, Uber Eats was on track to post more than $3 billion in gross sales by 2017’s end, the Financial Times reported. With 2 million drivers worldwide, Uber has access to a delivery infrastructure unavailable to competitors, with any given driver available to transport food or passengers in cities serviced by Uber Eats.

The service delivers a wide range of meals — even fast food. For example, delivery from McDonald’s on the Uber Eats app is available from more than 2,000 locations around the country, with 1,000 new stores added in 2017. McDelivery with Uber Eats launched at locations in the New York Metro Area, Fresno, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Washington, D.C.