Grubhub facts for kids
Logo used since 2021
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Formerly
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GrubHub Seamless Inc. (2013–2014) |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Traded as | NYSE: GRUB (2014–2021) |
| Industry | Online food ordering |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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| Services | Food delivery |
| Revenue |  US$1.82 billion (2020) |
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Operating income
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 −US$149 million (2020) |
| −US$156 million (2020) |
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| Total assets | US$2.39 billion (2020) |
| Total equity | US$1.42 billion (2020) |
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Number of employees
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2,841 (Feb 2021) |
| Parent | Just Eat Takeaway |
| Subsidiaries |
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Grubhub Inc. is an American company that helps you order food online. It's like a digital menu and delivery service for restaurants. Grubhub is based in Chicago, Illinois.
It was started in 2004 and is now part of a Dutch company called Just Eat Takeaway since 2021. Grubhub has grown a lot over the years. By 2019, it had almost 20 million active users. It worked with 115,000 restaurants in 3,200 cities across all 50 US states.
Contents
Grubhub's Journey
How Grubhub Started
Grubhub was founded in 2004 by Mike Evans and Matt Maloney. They wanted to make it easier to order food without using paper menus. Their idea was to create an online system for food orders.
In 2006, their business plan for Grubhub won a competition at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. This helped them get started. Over the next few years, Grubhub received money from investors. This funding helped them grow and expand into new cities like San Francisco and New York.
Growing with Other Companies
Grubhub grew by adding other food ordering services. In 2011, they bought Dotmenu, which owned Allmenus and Campusfood. Allmenus helped people find restaurant menus online.
Later, Grubhub acquired other delivery services. In 2015, they bought DiningIn and Restaurants on the Run. In 2016, they acquired LAbite. These purchases helped Grubhub serve more customers in different areas.
In 2017, Grubhub bought Eat24 from Yelp. Eat24 was another popular food ordering service. Grubhub eventually closed down the Eat24 brand in late 2018. They also acquired parts of OrderUp, another delivery service, in 2017 and 2018.
Grubhub also bought companies that helped with payments and campus food ordering. In 2018, they acquired LevelUp, which focused on diner engagement and payment solutions. They also bought Tapingo, a platform for ordering food on college campuses.
During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, more people started ordering food online. Grubhub offered contact-free delivery to keep everyone safe.
Grubhub and Seamless Join Forces
Before Grubhub, there was another company called Seamless. Seamless was started in 1999 to help companies order food online. Later, in 2005, Seamless started offering free ordering for regular customers too.
In 2013, Grubhub and Seamless decided to merge. This meant they combined their businesses to become one bigger company. The merger was completed in August 2013. This made them a very large online food ordering service.
Becoming a Public Company
In April 2014, Grubhub became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Its stock symbol was "GRUB."
Expanding Delivery Services
Grubhub started offering its own delivery service in June 2014. This was for restaurants that didn't have their own delivery drivers. By 2016, Grubhub was delivering food in over 50 cities across the U.S.
In February 2020, Grubhub launched Grubhub+. This is a monthly membership program. It offers free, unlimited food delivery from partner restaurants for a monthly fee.
Grubhub has many competitors in the U.S. These include Uber Eats, DoorDash, Postmates, and EatStreet.
New Ownership
In June 2020, a company from the Netherlands called Just Eat Takeaway announced they would buy Grubhub. The deal was worth about $7.3 billion. This made Just Eat Takeaway one of the biggest online food delivery services outside of China.
The sale was completed in June 2021. After the sale, Grubhub's logo was changed to include the Just Eat Takeaway logo. Grubhub's main office for North America stayed in Chicago.
In July 2022, Amazon made a deal with Just Eat Takeaway. This deal offers Prime customers a free Grubhub+ membership for a year. This partnership also allows Amazon to own a small part of Grubhub.
Images for kids
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GrubHub bike delivery service in New York City in 2017
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Grubhub logo from 2016 until 2021
