Madison Shumway
Staff Writer
It’s Friday—my day off—and I’m hungry.
The only problem? There’s a fresh foot of snow on the ground outside and a continuous stream of Chef’s Table episodes inside, and while I’ve got a package of beef-flavored Top Ramen on the pantry shelf, what I’m really craving is cheesy garlic bread from Goody’s.
Here’s where Pocatello Food Express comes in. The new, locally-owned service delivers food from 20 restaurants to your door.
Scott Adams, the head of the operation, delivered pizzas for Pizza Hut during his five years working toward a business management degree at ISU. The experience opened his eyes to a large, often underserved market: people who, like me, want to enjoy a meal from their favorite restaurant without leaving their living room.
“I learned that customers have an appreciation for convenience and figured Pocatello could greatly benefit from a service like this,” Adams said. “So I made it a reality.”
It’s a simple concept, but Pocatellans are responding well to it. In its brief lifespan, Pocatello Food Express’s Facebook page has amassed over 2,000 likes and a 4.8 star rating.
Visit its website, pocatello.express, and you’ll find a list of local restaurants. The service delivers from Chili’s, Country Kitchen, Elmer’s, Firehouse Subs, Five Guy’s Burgers and Fries, Goody’s Deli, Great Harvest Bread Co., Grecian Key, Jamba Juice, Mackenzie River Pizza, Mama Inez, Nosh Mahal, Perkins, Sandbagger’s Bar and Grill, Sandpiper Restaurant, Sumisu Asian Fusion and Sushi, The Healthier Place To Eat, The Sand Trap, Whispers Lounge and Wingers.
Click on a restaurant, and the site will direct you to its menu. Pick your items, select your zip code and head to checkout—you’ll be charged a $5 delivery fee and an optional driver tip on top of the cost of food and tax.
I place my order, and half an hour later, our driver knocks on the front door. My housemates, recently roused from illness-induced naps, converge upon the garlic bread like vultures.
“This is awesome, because you are limited to what stores actually deliver to you,” says Alece Burt, an ISU student and Bengal dancer. “But if there’s some place that will deliver anything to you, that’s what’s awesome.”
She and fellow student Taylor Snell discussed the merits of the service. It would come in handy, they say, while sick, studying or at a party.
“When you’re sick, you want comfort food,” Snell said. “It would be nice if you were sick to get things delivered to you, since you don’t want to go get dressed and drag your sick corpse of a body to a restaurant.”
And while pizza delivery isn’t an entirely new concept, it’s most likely the novelty of ordering sushi or mashed potatoes or prawn curry and only having to travel ten feet to answer the door that fuels community interest.
“I love this as a concept,” Snell said.“Food is my favorite thing, but so are pajamas.”
