Red Lobster is testing delivery service. The restaurant chain announced Monday that New York residents will be able to order from the restaurant’s full menu for delivery via the Grubhub app.

“We’re excited to test delivery in New York City to give our guests a convenient, new way to enjoy our delicious, freshly prepared seafood,” Salli Setta, the president of the national chain, said in a press release. “Delivery is a platform that is becoming increasingly popular, and we think there is an opportunity to offer this service to our guests who may not be able to enjoy an in-restaurant experience but still want a great seafood meal.”

The decision to expand into delivery is something that similar chain restaurants have been struggling with. Pei Wei Asian Kitchen CEO John Hendrick said during the Consumer Picks panel at the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference in Dallas earlier this month that “fighting delivery is kind of like fighting gravity.” Customers want it, but the experience is not always satisfying because delivery times through third-party services can take anywhere from 10 to 55 minutes.

“You are going to lose,” Hendrick told attendees at the conference. “We have to figure out a way to make the economics and experience work for both the brand and the guest.”

That’s why Red Lobster is testing delivery services. Kim Lopdrup, CEO of Red Lobster, told conference attendees during the Consumer Picks panel that they’re only offering delivery at a small number of restaurants because they’re not sure seafood travels well enough.

“We’re testing it to make sure we are delivering the kind of food that people expect from Red Lobster,” Lopdrup said. “We’ll see how the tests go.”

Red Lobster already has the millennial market locked in, with 18 to 24-year-olds naming the chain as their top restaurant choice in a survey by Nation’s Restaurant News in 2016. But with investment firm Cowen predicting that U.S. food home delivery market will surge by 79 percent in the next five years, testing is the first step in keeping up with the changing restaurant market.


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