Rider Switches Gears to Peddle Food Delivery

By Christy Scannell

When Matthew Reate was laid off from his retail job several months ago, he decided it was time to re-evaluate his life.

“I was tired of working for somebody else,” he said. “And then I thought about what skills I have and I realized I ride my bike everywhere.”

Building off his love of cycling, Reate launched Manivela, a bike-driven food delivery service, in July. Although the idea is straightforward — customers simply call Manivela’s dispatch with their restaurant order and delivery address — Reate said the concept is unique.

“There really isn’t anything like this that I found in my research,” he said. “There are Chinese and Mexican restaurants in Chicago and New York that deliver by bike, but I couldn’t find one that would deliver from any restaurant.”

Manivela — Spanish for “crank,” as in the center part of the bicycle — focuses on Uptown and downtown, splitting the area into four colored zones. A delivery within one zone (restaurant to patron) is $5 ($4 for featured restaurants on Manivela’s Web site) plus tip and the cost of the ordered items. Deliveries between zones incur a $5 base fee plus $1 per half-mile. Service is available from 11 a.m. to midnight from any open restaurant, even McDonald’s.

“If you want a burrito at 10 at night, you just call up, give us your order and where to go, and you’re done,” Reate said. “Then we take down the info and dispatch the order and it’s on its way. The riders are already on-call in their zones so it usually takes less then 20 minutes for an order to be complete.”

Jay Porter, owner of The Linkery in North Park, is a Manivela fan. “Just a running tab on my patronage of Manivela,” he wrote on his restaurant’s blog, “Casing the Joint,” earlier this month. “First time — Blind Lady pizza: arrived in Golden Hill in under an hour, food quality delicious. Second time — Burger Lounge: arrived in North Park really quickly, food quality delicious (burger warm and still medium rare, salad cool, milkshake intact). This is seriously an awesome service to our neighborhood. I am super appreciative of it.”

Reate said he has been surprised at how the community has embraced the concept, especially those he hadn’t originally identified as his key audience.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the bike community and they’re thrilled to see something like this happen,” he said. “But it’s the babysitters and the moms who call us for full dinners that I didn’t expect.”

And it’s not just food the Manivela cyclers will wheel over. One woman asked for a pack of cigarettes with her order. Another requested beverages. Reate said he is also looking into adding medication deliveries, particularly for elderly or infirm customers.

“This is all about quick convenience. If someone wants something we can get easily, of course we will do that. People are really appreciative,” he said.

In fact, as a former pizza delivery worker, he said he has been pleased with the way customers are paying his riders, who work for part of the delivery fee plus gratuities.

“When I did pizzas it was $2-3 per place, but they’re getting at least $5 every time. I wasn’t expecting that but I’m happy about it,” he said.

If hungry customers don’t have cash, Reate can invoice through PayPal to allow them to pay with credit cards.

Reate said he looks for his service to be popular in environmentally conscious San Diego. “My hope for the company is to expand farther to the ocean and the beach areas. I really want to promote the local communities and shrink the distance we all travel each day,” he said. “Plus, San Diego is just a really great city to ride in.”

Manivela

(619) 512-FOOD (3663)

www.foodbikes.com