Back in 2021, Uber purchased Drizly for $1.1 billion shortly after it reported that its food delivery segment kept its losses manageable during the pandemic. Three years later, the company is shutting down the US-based alcohol delivery service, Axios has reported. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s SVP of delivery, told the publication that the company has decided to close the business and to focus on its “core Uber Eats strategy.”
The article ends with:
Either way, Drizly is gone, but Uber seems to intend to continue delivering alcohol to its customers.
Which makes this feel more like consolidation than a shut down
Yeah I’m looking at the app (Uber Eats) right now. Alcohol delivery is an option.
At least in my area.
DoorDash still has alcohol deliveries.
You would be amazed at how many people place a delivery order, then either leave home, pass out, or won’t answer the door.
The one time I’ve had an alcohol delivery come up, it was a case of beer from Walgreens at like 9 pm. I got there and the store was uncharactrtistically closed. I can only imagine how pissed they were finding that out.
I get them all the time for Meijers and a local bar/liquor store. One restaurant still sells margaritas in plastic cups, “sealed” with just a paper tape. I’m not completely sure that’s legal, but I look forward to the GoFundMe for my legal fees and living expenses if and when I get arrested for it.
I’ve been left with 4 bottles of champagne, a bottle of prosecco, 3 cases of beer, and a box of wine in the past year, where the customer just didn’t want to answer the door.
NAL, but it would appear in most places in the great nation of America, any tape on a lidded plastic cup is a sufficient seal to defeat an open container citation (appears to be similarly treated as wine bottles that have paper/label seals) and it appears more than half the union offers drive up liquor sales in additions to NOLA’s famous drive thru margaritas source: (https://www.motorbiscuit.com/margarita-madness-states-offer-drive-through-alcohol/). If you are still worried you can check out here and click on your states law to get more in depth https://www.findlaw.com/dui/laws-resources/open-container-laws-by-state.html
Michigan’s laws only very recently (during the pandemic) changed to allow this.
I mention Michigan specifically because they mentioned Meijer and Michigan is one of the states you can find those.
I’m not worried about it at all. I figure that if there is an issue with the packaging, the restaurant and DD would be liable.
Considering how many people order McDonald’s and Taco Bell through DoorDash, no, I wouldn’t.
Here in Australia Uber and doordash both have alcohol deliveries and grocery deliveries. The core business is food. Recently I’ve noticed doordash offering alcohol too, before you’ve completed a food order. A second order for free, made at the same time. They had already offered a top up double dash, after you ordered. They’re cutting one step.
I took off work today because I feel like death. (strep throat, aching body). I just had DD deliver me a pint of alcohol so I don’t have to drag my sick ass out in this weather and risk getting other ppl sick.
I’m gonna make a hot toddy after dinner, lay down and hopefully feel better tomorrow for work. Point is, alcohol delivery is a great service imo. One I’m willing to pay for. It’s also one that has stopped my buddy from driving his already drunk ass to the store for more booze.
That alone possibly saved a few lives. Just sayin.
This seems like a legal minefield to even attempt. Liquor is often treated differently than beer and wine legally, and the laws are absurdly convoluted and different for each state. I wouldn’t be surprised if the plan was just hoping that state agencies didn’t ask questions.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is partially a response to some states asking if drivers were properly licensed to deliver alcohol.
People that alread get drunk at home uninterested in paying more for booze. Who could have ever predicted this?
I don’t think that’s as big of a problem as you’re acting like. For example, people who are already drunk or at least too drunk to drive are a great market to exploit with a delivery app. Hell, you can even tell yourself it’s a public service to keep them off the road, right?
To me the bigger problems seem like legal liabilities from being so obviously easy to abuse by minors and the fact that no one seems to have heard of them.
the bigger problems seem like legal liabilities from being so obviously easy to abuse by minors
You get carded for alcohol deliveries. It’s not any less secure than buying alcohol at a grocery store.
Other than delivery services not doing background checks on drivers?
But it’s still a fair point, as “contractors” the company could probably argue they don’t have any blame for failure to check to IDs.
In my experience, it’s not a “show ID to the guy and he says okay” it’s “the guy is obligated to scan your ID into the doordash/Uber app to verify age”. They can’t opt to not check without getting dinged pretty heavily by Uber/doordash.
Other than delivery services not doing background checks on drivers?
Are you worried that minors will be delivering alcohol for these companies or having the company deliver the alcohol to them?
and the fact that no one seems to have heard of them.
this is it right here. Also, there’s a case to be made for large parties running out of booze. (poor neighbors.) but the reality is those circumstances just don’t make sense to build a business around. especially considering many liquor stores are getting in on the act.
deleted by creator
I’d 100% use this as would just of my friends, if state laws didn’t prevent it.
This is almost certainly a legal issue vs demand.
You say that now, but would you really pay $27 for a six-pack?
