PG, Monterey look at capping delivery fees
Currently, companies can charge up to 30%, some other cities have a maximum of just 15%.
MONTiRiY >> At least two cities along the Monterey Peninsula are looking at ways to cap the amount food delivery companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash charge to restaurants to deliver their food to customers.
Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Berkeley have all passed ordinances capping the percentage charged to restaurants at 15%. Currently, food delivery companies can charge up to a maximum of 30%.
Take out has been a saving grace for restaurants in Monterey
County since closing for indoor dining on March 17. But these high delivery fees are creating another hurdle for the cashstrapped eateries.
Frank Geisler, the chief executive of the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said more research is needed into possible alternatives. Elected officials in Pacific Grove on Wednesday have the opportunity to pass an urgency ordinance capping charges at 15%
And Monterey is hosting a forum at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss with the public its next move regarding any potential cap. People interested in attending the free forum must register at https://bit.ly/3ixjNEP.
Monterey Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira said restaurateurs, business operators, delivery drivers and third-party food delivery service providers are encouraged to attend.
“There is the potential of bringing this to the council to see if they want to cap fees, but we wanted to hear from the public first,” Rojanasathira said.
Both cities’ chambers of commerce support temporary caps with provisions to sunset any ordinance in a specific time period or until restaurants can fully reopen. But Geisler said it is not as simple as just passing an ordinance. Both he and Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar said it’s uncharacteristic for chambers to support another layer of government regulation.
“But those people are hurting, and it just seems like common sense to limit the hurt for a limited time,” Geisler said.
The exact number of restaurants that have closed along the Peninsula because of the pandemic is not known, but it seems like everyone knows or has heard about a restaurant closure. Many of these businesses have had to shut down permanently. The losses will be in the millions of dollars, business watchers say.
“The chamber has heard from a number of restaurants that the fees are out of whack, many of which have jumped to 30% since the pandemic began,” Ammar said.
In Pacific Grove the ordinance, if approved Wednesday, will sunset 90 days after the end of the prohibition on indoor dining.
“After nearly eleven months of economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic — with a short reprieve allowing indoor dining — restaurants are now subjected to even more restrictive rules of