‘Dine Niagara’ delivery app celebrates 1-year anniversary of helping local restaurants

Many businesses in Niagara say they’re thriving after cutting out the giants in online food delivery and finding a better homemade option.

Last year, an app called Dine Niagara was launched to help small restaurants keep more money in their pockets.

It started as a simple webpage with three participating restaurants but grew into an app with nearly 40 businesses across the region.

Local restaurant owner Wayne Kretz says partnering with Dine Niagara allows him to avoid high fees. “$100 worth of food, we get that $100. Dine Niagara doesn’t take a penny from it. If we were on skip the dishes, $30 to $35 would be gone to them,” said Kretz, owner of The Manhattan in St. Catharines.

Dine Niagara does not charge eateries commission fees which allows the businesses to keep prices the same as they are if you chose to eat in.

The app has grown to allow customers to search their cravings by food type, daily deals and location.

Dine Niagara founder Tim Empringham says restaurants pay $50 per month to be on the app. He says the service opens up new markets for the restaurants with delivery being offered to St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland, and Fort Erie.

“Dine Niagara wasn’t built to be a profitable company. We were built to support our costs,” said Empringham. “The goal is that this becomes a platform that supports the restaurants, without me having to spend a whole lot of time on it. It should be able to run itself.”

Empringham says there are currently 5,400 customers registered on the app and the number continues to grow.