Grubhub is moving beyond takeout and delivery with a new dine-in rewards program called The Drop. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that the company launched the program on Thursday, giving customers a way to earn Grubhub credit when they eat at participating restaurants and pay with a card linked to their Grubhub account.
For households that already use delivery apps to plan weeknight meals, the change could tie restaurant visits more closely to future takeout spending. Instead of a discount at the table, diners receive credit in the app to use on a later Grubhub order.
Grubhub starts a limited dine-in rollout
The Drop is Grubhub’s first move into in-person dining, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The program sends customers up to three personalized offers from nearby restaurants every Thursday inside the Grubhub app. A user can claim one offer, dine at that restaurant, and then receive Grubhub credit after paying the bill with a linked card.
Nation’s Restaurant News gave an example of how the math works: a diner might get $5 back after spending $20 at a restaurant. Once the purchase is completed, that $5 is added to the customer’s Grubhub account for a future order. Grubhub said the program is designed to strengthen its customer offering and help restaurants drive repeat orders across both delivery and dine-in occasions.
The company did not disclose the detailed economics of the program, but it told Nation’s Restaurant News that restaurants only pay when a diner comes in and spends. Grubhub also said there are no upfront costs or fees for restaurants to participate, a point that could matter for operators weighing whether the program brings in profitable traffic.
New York City and Chicago diners will see it first
The initial rollout is limited. Select Grubhub customers in New York City and Chicago began receiving their first restaurant offers this week, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The company said that limited release will continue for several weeks before expanding to all Grubhub users in those two markets.
That means the program is not yet nationwide, and Grubhub has not said when other cities will get access. For now, diners in the two launch markets are the people most likely to notice the new feature in the app, while households elsewhere may not see any change yet.
Early participating restaurants include Tacombi, Juice Generation, Chopt Creative Salad Co., Dig Inn, Dos Toros, Momoya, 7th Street Burger and Pokeworks, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The publication also reported that more restaurants are involved, though Grubhub has not published a full public list in the source material provided. City-by-city participation beyond those named brands is not yet known.
The strategy is to capture more restaurant occasions
The Drop follows similar efforts by DoorDash and Uber Eats, which also offer dine-in rewards that give customers credits to use later, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. For Grubhub, the goal appears to be winning a bigger share of restaurant spending, whether the meal happens at home or at a table.
The new program also builds on Grubhub’s acquisition of Claim, a restaurant rewards app focused on cash-back rewards. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that The Drop is the first time Grubhub is using Claim’s technology in a consumer-facing product. That detail matters because it shows Grubhub is using acquired loyalty tools to build features beyond delivery logistics.
For families, the practical effect is straightforward. A meal eaten out in New York City or Chicago could now generate app credit for a later delivery order, if the diner claims an offer and pays with a linked card. Grubhub has not said how large offers will typically be, how many restaurants will join over time, or when the program will reach more markets. What is confirmed is that the first offers are now going out in New York City and Chicago.