When Gecko’s introduced meal delivery, it used a local company to handle the service.
But then a couple years ago, a restaurant delivery giant bought the local delivery company — and Gecko’s lost local control.
“You have folks picking it up who you don’t really know, and you’re not really sure when it’s getting there,” Gecko’s Hospitality Group co-Owner Mike Quillen says.
Delivery was also causing problems at the group’s brick-and-mortar locations, of which is has six, from south Sarasota County to north Manatee County. At one point it got so popular, Quillen says, Gecko’s was having a hard time taking care of guests in its restaurants. On a Friday night, it might have gotten 10 or 15 or more orders it wasn’t expecting. “It was very much affecting in-house dining,” he says. “Some nights, we would have numerous delivery people standing in our lobby area waiting. Guests were having a hard time coming in the restaurant. It created a lot of chaos, to be honest.”
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