Local restaurant Spice Waala has launched a new flat-fee delivery service called Yaku, just for Ballard restaurants.
Uttam Mukherjee, Spice Waala co-owner, says they started Yaku to offer lower-cost delivery services to the neighborhood. So far, five restaurants are part of the delivery service: Spice Waala, Rachel’s Bagels and Burritos, Pie Bird Bakeshop, Lil Woody’s, and Ballard Pizza Company.
Here’s how it works: You can order directly from one of the five restaurants in the Yaku platform. Every order has a flat $9.99 delivery fee attached, and there are no service fees or other hidden fees. Yaku drivers are hourly employees, and they’re paid for all work time and reimbursed for mileage. Right now, there’s no tipping function in the platform, but Mukherjee says they’re working on it.
Yaku serves a 2-3 mile radius right now: The northern boundary is NW 85th St and the eastern boundary is 1st Ave NW. Ballard and parts of Greenwood, Phinney, and Fremont are in the service area so far.
On the website, Yaku is transparent about adjusting the fee as needed. “Our goal is to make $9.99 delivery (or less) sustainable. We’re testing real-world costs and demand before making a permanent pricing commitment.”
Mukherjee says it’s free for restaurants to join. They’re only including local restaurants—no national chain restaurants will be on the platform.
Mukherjee says they launched Yaku becuase of their “frustration with the way delivery has been devastated here in Seattle because of the fees being charged to customers,” he said, adding that Spice Waala’s delivery business fell 50% over the past couple of years due to increasing fees.
Yaku launched on Oct. 29, and Mukherjee says they’ve had plenty of orders and interest from the community so far. He’s hoping they can expand to offer more restaurants and broaden their delivery area over time.
It’s been a big year for Mukherjee and wife and Spice Waala co-owner Aakanksha Sinha: The pair also opened a new cafe in Wallingford in late September called Janta.
Photo by Spice Waala
