(sponsored content)

Every town has a restaurant that defines its character. For Walnut Creek, this is Sunrise Bistro, where since 1981 foodies have packed the tables for giant breakfast burritos, poached eggs on sweet potato hash, and chicken salad sandwiches. Founded by Chef Cindy Gershen, now operated by her son Joe Stein, the food hums with energy, full of flavor and fresh ingredients.

Just as the menu has evolved over the decades so has the family’s business model. Locals remember walkup service at Sunrise Café on California before the move to Botelho for table service and expanded catering operations. Once the pandemic hit, Sunrise like other restaurants across the country, was forced to adjust to the new world of takeout food for survival, but how customers placed their orders meant radically different things to the bottom line.

Out of necessity as much as choice, restaurateurs suddenly became reliant on national operators like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grub Hub, among others, who turned food delivery into a gold mine. “We’ve always balanced running the business with what is best for our customers. Prior to the pandemic customers wanted to come here to eat. And while that remains true for many, behaviors have changed, and people have dramatically increased the use of delivery. Not surprisingly, delivery has now become a critical component of our everyday business,” says Joe Stein.

 Ordering directly with a restaurant means your entire bill goes to that restaurant, much the same as if you ate in the dining room. But ordering via a third-party delivery app, means the restaurant makes 20-30 percent less off the same ticket. That’s because DoorDash, Grubhub, and others charge fees to the restaurant, in addition to the fees they charge you.

“The only way for us to fulfill delivery in a sustainable way is by doing it direct. That’s why Sunrise Bistro invested in technology and developed our own delivery app. For a flat delivery fee of $4.99, customers can now place their orders through our app and receive the same high quality food delivered straight to their door at a lower cost than if they had used DoorDash,” says Stein.

Besides the economic benefits of ordering through the new app, the technology allows Sunrise Bistro to reward customers with a loyalty program. “We’ve been around for forty years, and we have customers who eat with us up to six times a week. Now we have a system that allows us to reward our customers with points toward free meals as gratitude for their patronage. We look forward to leveraging this new tool to grow our business and expand service to our East Bay community.” 

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW TO BEGIN WEB ORDERING AND GET FREE DELIVERY ON YOUR FIRST ORDER!

Apple (iOS): App Store 

Android: Google Play Store 

Open for breakfast and lunch, plus full service catering. sunrisebistrocatering.com.