Last week Cleveland City Council voted to slap a 15-percent commission cap on fees third-party delivery services like DoorDash, GrubHub and UberEats can charge Cleveland restaurants.

The City of Beachwood: “Hold my beer.”



For a limited time, the city will be footing the entire delivery bill for Beachwood residents who order from a select group of participating restaurants. Dubbed Beachwood Delivers, the program aims to remove the financial burden heaped upon restaurants by third-party delivery services at a time when most are struggling to survive.

“From my perspective I am blown away that the city put the time and effort into doing this,” says Andy Himmel, who operates Bomba Tacos in Beachwood.

Himmel says that residents are told to call the restaurant directly and mention Beachwood Delivers. Scheduled to launch any day, the program will be offered daily from 4 to 8 p.m. Restaurants such as Blu, Bomba, Cedar Creek Grille, Giovanni’s, Hyde Park, Winking Lizard and Yours Truly are participating. Others that operate in the city likely are electing not to participate for their own logistical reasons. Only orders of $25 or more are eligible.

This service is not intended to replace third-party delivery outfits; city officials estimate that Beachwood Delivers will replace approximately 25 percent of participating restaurants’ delivery business.

To owners like Himmel, the program not only will ease immediate financial burdens, but likely sow future rewards in terms of repeat business.

“We know that these customers live in Beachwood,” Himmel says. “These could wind up being our most loyal guests, so it’s a great opportunity both short-term and long-term.”

Beachwood made the decision in lieu of taking other measures.

“Rather than relying on legislation to cap delivery fees, our city has removed the middleman by becoming the middleman,” Mayor Martin S. Horwitz said. “It’s another example of how our outstanding City services have elevated Beachwood to one of the premier suburbs in Ohio, while protecting a vital segment of our small-business community.”