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When you order up some Fieri, you might be getting some Bertucci's

By adamg on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 4:45pm

Boston Restaurant Talk reports kitchens at local Bertucci's are cooking up the stuff people who order delivery from Guy Fieri's Flavortown Kitchen are getting.

Topics: 
Dining


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Comments

By anon on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 5:29pm.

Adam from Uhub says that " Boston Restaurant Talk reports....."

Boston Restaurant Talk says "based on info given from Adam Gaffen"

Enquiring minds want to know.

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By adamg on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 3:35pm.

I heard about the West Roxbury Bertucci's specifically (somebody posted about it on one of the Roslindale Facebook groups) and passed the tip onto him, and then he found out it was more than just that one place.

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By anon on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 5:43pm.

Why is that a problem? So long as you get what you ordered, does the kitchen that it is produced in really matter?

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By tblade on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 6:23pm.

Ghost kitchens are a great idea and is an excellent use of an underutilized kitchen running at 10%-20% capacity (or whatever the case may be).

In addition to Guy Fieri’s concept, I believe there are other concepts being run out of Bertucci’s such as Tyga Bites, Wing Squad, MrBeast Burger, and Miriah’s cookies (based upon an observation in the GrubHub app that these concepts overlap with local Bertucci’s addresses).

I do lament, however, that these new corporate options may cut into sales for local and mom&pop take out spots, especially considering how apps like GrubHub, Uber Eats etc add on crippling fees and engage in deceptive, abusive practices with local shops.

(For example: people will say “never use the apps, call the restaurant directly”. But did you ever notice how your favorite Chinese takeout spot or small pizza shop seem to have 2 or 3 different websites? Well, GrubHub has been caught making fake websites that look like it was made by the mom&pop shop that would list a phone number that would be touted to GrubHub and have an online ordering system that was filter through GrubHub’s software. You genuinely thought you were ordering direct from the restaurant, but in reality your order was being intercepted by GH and they were placing your order for you and collecting a fee—even for pick ups.)

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By mplo on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 9:17pm.

That really is weird!

I've used grub hub a lot, and have never had any problems with them. Sorry that this happened to you.

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By cycler on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 9:32pm.

I recently ordered some food for my parents in a Midwestern city. I called the restaurant and asked them if it was better for them to order over the phone or via website, and the hostess said “website is fine, it’s through DoorDash anyway. However the restaurant’s own site added a convenience charge, which I presume was to offset the DoorDash fees, which I was happy to pay.
I’ll make sure to look out for fake sites though, it seems like that should be illegal! But as a small business owner, I’m sure that suing Door Dash is a fruitless pursuit.

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By Kevin H on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:14am.

But did you ever notice how your favorite Chinese takeout spot or small pizza shop seem to have 2 or 3 different websites? Well, GrubHub has been caught making fake websites that look like it was made by the mom&pop shop that would list a phone number that would be touted to GrubHub and have an online ordering system that was filter through GrubHub’s software.

Do you have any sources to verify this?

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By BostonDog on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:17am.

There are dozens of articles and it's well known at this point, at least with people in the restaurant industry. Here is just one.

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By tblade on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 1:14pm.

The best delivery app story off all time is this one.

Door Dash listed a pizza shop that didn’t sign up for or know that it was listed on Door Dash’s (as Door Dash has done thousands of times). The shop discovered this with the now-familiar customer calling to complain ”Our delivery pizza was cold”. But the shop doesn’t offer delivery service. “What do you mean? I’m looking at your pizza box and it was just delivered yesterday Door Dash!”.

Upon further investigation, it also turned out that Door Dash listed the shop’s pizza for $16, but the true price, which Door Dash paid, was $24. So the shop owner himself ordered a number of pizzas through Door Dash at $16 and turned around and collected the $24 payment, earning $8/pie!

https://themargins.substack.com/p/doordash-and-pizza-arbitrage

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By Kevin H on Thu, 02/11/2021 - 8:56am.

Thank you!

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By Scratchie on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:37am.

https://www.google.com/search?q=grubhub+fake+websites

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By Rob on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 3:01pm.

Do you have any sources to verify this?

One's own eyes.

Pay attention the next time you click on search or map results for a restaurant. If you can't find a website in the listing that has anything to do with the name of the place - or even if it does, but you follow the link to a generically-formatted food order page - it's time to be suspicious. Back out of the webpage, call the restaurant on the phone, and ask if they take orders online.

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By berkleealum on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 7:45pm.

thanks for this, Adam. i’ve been passively trying to figure out what exactly Flavortown is since last week. pretty decent food though.

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By oddjob60 on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 8:53pm.

I just started noticing this too, when a bunch of unfamiliar names began showing up on delivery searches.

From Ungarnish:

Why Would TGI Friday’s Disguise Themselves?
Here’s the short version: people don’t think of these chain restaurants as a spot to get high-quality fried chicken. By masking their existing brands and using existing kitchens, these family-style dining spots are avoiding any ideas you might already have about their quality or options.

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By tblade on Tue, 02/09/2021 - 9:15pm.

My favorite example of this trend is “Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings” ended up being Chuck E Cheese.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/us/grubhub-chuck-e-cheese-pasquallys-appl...

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By Scratchie on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 9:38am.

Why Would TGI Friday’s Disguise Themselves?
Here’s the short version: people don’t think of these chain restaurants as a spot to get high-quality fried chicken. By masking their existing brands and using existing kitchens, these family-style dining spots are avoiding any ideas you might already have about their quality or options.

In other words, these restaurants suffer from name recognition.

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By anon on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 7:56am.

Anybody that supports Guy Fieri, deserve what they get, wherever it's from.

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By Kaz on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 7:22pm.

Guy Fieri has raised millions for out-of-work kitchen staff and put millions of his own money into the fund since the pandemic started.

His food might be sub-standard artery-clogging comfort garbage (which has a time and place too), but Guy himself is a pretty good guy. I would have no problem supporting him.

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By SamWack on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 10:41am.

at least they’re not getting it from this place:

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-guys...

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By Anon on Wed, 02/10/2021 - 2:15pm.

They made some headlines when they announced a flat-fee structure for takeout services, saying it would save restaurants a good chunk of money. It is a Boston-based company.

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