Have your inner-city pasta lunch delivered by skateboard
Pizza companies are using drone delivery and myriad restaurants have climbed on the Uber Eats bandwagon – but have you heard about skateboard delivery?
Chichi Kitchen, a pasta restaurant in Christchurch’s Boxed Quarter owned by Eugene Chang, has teamed up with neighbouring skate shop Curb to offer free delivery at peak lunch time during the week.
Curb owner Gerard Bloxham said they had been running deliveries for six weeks. He could get to customers within a few blocks ‘‘in just a few minutes’’.
‘‘I did one the other day to Ferry Rd, at the bus depot, that was about the furthest I’ve been,’’ Bloxham said.
‘‘I probably wouldn’t venture much past South City Mall, I’d probably cut off at Colombo, maybe the Justice Precinct north.’’ Deliveries happened between 11.30am and 1pm, and customers could order ahead by email with a desired delivery time. ‘‘That’s the time for some reason when Chichi, and my shop Curb, are really quiet, so it’s a good time to get more people eating Eugene’s food,’’ he said. Bloxham said skating with the pasta was ‘‘no trouble’’, as long as the order wasn’t too big.
‘‘I’ve got a heater bag, it’s like a giant briefcase. I’d say the most I’d fitted in there was about 6 or 7 pastas,’’ he said.
Chang, who was also head chef at Chichi, said fire regulations limited customer capacity to 20, including staff, so ‘‘serving our food outside of the restaurant’’ was a logical step.
Bloxham said he hoped their skateboard delivery might differentiate them from other food delivery services.
‘‘Hopefully people find it a bit more personable. Those Uber Eats guys have to move, you know, it’s kind of like, see you later straight away. With us, there is a bit more of a genuine connection with the delivery,’’ he said. Should your office fall within skating distance of Chichi Kitchen, orders can be placed at chichiorder@gmail.com for lunchtime delivery.