A Lincoln Park restaurant owner is taking aim at third-party delivery services with a virtual restaurant he’s debuting on Thursday. Faraz Sardharia, owner of Tandoor Char House — an Indian restaurant that opened in 2012 — is unveiling Tikka Masala Taco House, stuffing corn tortillas with fillings like beef nihari and lobster tikka masala. It’s a delivery- and takeout-only restaurant offered exclusively for order on the restaurant’s website.
Tandoor Char House’s own fleet will deliver the food, as opposed to Uber Eats, GrubHub, Postmates, and DoorDash. Sardharia doesn’t want to give up any revenue from his new idea. Those delivery services can charge commissions as high as 30 percent. Their tip policies are also the subject of much controversy.
Sardharia wants to test out demand for his Indian tacos. He called it a timed exclusive, similar to how music albums appear exclusively on a particular streaming service for a few months before becoming available on competing services. Using that philosophy, Sardharia said he isn’t opposed to other companies delivering tacos in the future.
The virtual restaurant also has the potential to bring business to Tandoor Char House and Sardharia is hopeful that he could spin the idea off into its own restaurant. The restaurant experiments with fusion in items including Indian-spiced chicken wings, burgers, and more.
“Tandoor Char House stays pretty busy, but this is more about using our awesome kitchen staff to showcase all of what they have to offer,” Sardharia said.
He uses tortillas from local supplier El Milagro for his tikka masala tacos, and naan and paratha for other flatbreads. Other menu items include a tandoori chicken empanada.
Sardharia first toyed with the virtual restaurant idea last year at Lakeview Taco Fest, an event that goes on this weekend. Reception was positive and he moved on to working on a delivery pop-up with Fooda, a company that serves office buildings
Many small business owners feel forced into using third-party delivery companies because they want to be seen on those websites and apps; to be part of those marketplaces. Some restaurant owners don’t want to be hassled with building their own website or hiring delivery people. But when a delivery doesn’t go right, customers often blame the restaurant without keeping the delivery company accountable.
“It’s not good for small businesses,” Sardharia said.
There are alternatives. Sardharia uses Hngr, a company started by former GrubHub worker Rich Reising. Sardharia said he’s known Reising for more than a decade. Hngr builds websites with online ordering and handles social media marketing for restaurants.
Tandoor Char House has four regular delivery people but Sardharia said he has other drivers on call. He has developed relationships with third-party drivers who are frustrated by how little they make working for some of the most well-known delivery companies.
“When guests order from Postmates or Uber, the drivers represent our business,” Sardharia said. “So we kind of communicate with them and make friends.”