What the ASAP/Waitr bankruptcy says about the future of restaurant tech

ASAP, the food delivery service formerly known as Waitr, has shut down after the company filed for Ch. 7 bankruptcy, according to an 8-K form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2.

Waitr was founded in 2013 as a boutique delivery platform by students at McNeese University and then was officially launched in 2015 before spreading throughout Louisiana and into other regions. In 2018, the company was acquired by Landry’s owner Tilman Fertitta’s blank check company, Landcadia Holdings Inc., for $308 million.

Since then, the company has experienced a series of financial ups and downs as the restaurant industry entered the golden era of food delivery and it was “sink or swim” in the increasingly crowded market. Waitr tried to differentiate itself from competitors like Grubhub and DoorDash by catering toward smaller, independent restaurants in mid-sized cities.