How Millennials Are Changing Restaurant Service
Millennials and their digital habits and desire for convenience are driving major changes in the restaurant industry.
Dwight Adams, IndyStar
Deep discounts on food at local restaurants, all at your fingertips with your smartphone.
Restaurants and bakeries in the Indianapolis area are selling food items – ice cream, pastries, even barbecue – for more than 50% off through the Too Good To Go app.
The app allows customers to take unsold food from nearby restaurants, bakeries, cafes and even supermarkets.
Recent examples include Hummus Republic in Avon, which is offering an $18 bag of products for $5.99 on the morning of July 3, available for pickup after 8:45 p.m. that evening.
Hazeables Bakery is selling $12 worth of goodies, including surplus bags of assorted cannoli, cookies, cupcakes and pie slices. Pickup is available Monday afternoon for $3.99.
LiftOff Creamery regularly offers $12 dessert cups for $3.99.
LiftOff owner Ryan Lynch was the first Indianapolis store to sign up for the Too Good To Go service, which launches in early 2024. Since then, he’s convinced other local businesses to join.
“I just don’t want to waste food,” he said. “And this is an opportunity for someone who is looking for food to get it at a much lower price.”
Customers typically find ice cream, cheesecakes, cookies and/or brownies in the various bags he offers at his four ice cream parlors, including the Square Scoop shop he acquired last fall and the Greenwood LiftOff location opening this month at 1280 U.S. Highway 31 North.
What is Too Good To Go?
With a mission to reduce food waste and slow climate change, Too Good To Go launched in Europe in 2016 and expanded to the US in 2020. The company currently operates in approximately 30 cities across 17 states.
The app was the winner in the Cultural Impact category of the 2023 annual Apple App Store Awards.
How the Too Good To Go app works
Users open the app to find local restaurants with pickup times and prices for goods. Most of the offerings are Surprise Bags, where customers don’t know the contents until they pick them up.
Customers pay through the app and pick up the products during the specified time, usually just before the store closes or early the next day.
Restaurants in Indianapolis on Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go hasn’t officially launched in the Indianapolis area yet. That requires public relations and marketing, but that hasn’t stopped restaurants from signing up.
The company typically starts in a market where it has about 50 restaurants, said Sarah Soteroff, senior public relations manager for the company’s U.S. and Canada operations.
When it launches locally, the company expects to expand its offering of pizza, burger and sushi restaurants, which it also operates in other markets.
Restaurants can join the company via toogoodtogo.com.
Restaurants in Indianapolis on Too Good To Go:
Large Mo-BBQ
1285 N. State Rd. 135, Greenwood
The Indy Cooking Station
8329 N. Michigan Rd., Indianapolis
Hazeables
5545 E. Washington St., Indianapolis
Hummus Republic
114 N. Avon Ave., Avon
Ikea
11400 IKEA Way, Vissers
LiftOff Dairy Factory
111 E. 16th St., Suite 105, Indianapolis
5539 E. Washington St., Indianapolis
1280 US Hwy 31 N., Greenwood (Opens July)
Miss May Designs Bakery
1610 N. Lynhurst Dr., Speedway
Rise’n Roll Bakery
9263 EUS Highway 36, Avon
Square Shovel
1028 Virginia Ave.Indianapolis
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson.
