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Local restaurant owner fights to cap third-party delivery fees

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Tacotarian
Photo: Wade Vandervort

As the use of apps such as Postmates and Grubhub climbs during the pandemic, one Las Vegas restaurateur wants to put a cap on third-party delivery fees.

Tacotarian co-owner Kristen Corral says she has reached out to Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom to help draft an ordinance that would cap those fees. It’s set to be introduced at the August 4 commission meeting.

In a press release, Corral explained that pre-pandemic, her restaurant made a small percentage of its revenue from takeout and delivery orders. Now, she said, “Some restaurants, including ours, are doing double or even triple the amount of takeout and delivery.” She added that delivery apps take nearly 30% of every order placed.

In June alone, Corral wrote, Tacotarian’s Fort Apache location paid out $6,500 in delivery commission fees—which she said is double the restaurant’s monthly rent.“It’s not sustainable,” she wrote.

In a subsequent interview with the Weekly, Corral further explained her concept. “A lot of customers really have no idea that small businesses are being gauged,” Corral said, suggesting that a 10% cap is more reasonable. “It can mean the difference between paying rent and being evicted.”

The best thing customers can do for now to help small businesses, Corral says, is to order from a restaurant directly.

She set up a petition at tacotarianlv.com/capdeliveryfees.

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