Feeling nosh-y after 10 p.m.? If you live in the District or in Arlington,
Savory, a new food delivery service that launched this week, will deliver a fresh-cooked meal to your door in thirty minutes. The company, which was founded by Glenn Espinosa and operates out of
Union Kitchen in NoMa, offers a choice of three different entrees—one vegetarian--each evening beginning at 10 p.m. and fills orders until it runs out of food.
Typically, Savory will deliver until 2 a.m. Last night, the company ran out at about 11:30 p.m., thanks in part to
this piece that introduced Savory to Arlington. "Last night was an exercise in our operations," Espinosa says. "There's a lot of things we're looking to streamline. We’re going to work on increasing our quantities to meet our demand."
"We're actively trying to cater more to the tastes and the cuisines of our market, the late-night market," Espinosa says. "I believe that the palate is changing for the late-night market. If you look at the trends for fast-casual, I think there's going to be a huge change in the palate for late-night. Not everybody is going to be satisfied with just Taco Bell and Burger King in this day and age." He says that people have been requesting vegetarian entrees—"not necessarily just salads"—and a lot of baked goods, and that Savory will be trying out Korean and Thai dishes in the future.
Espinosa was inspired to create Savory while working the night shift as a nurse. "The night shift usually comes in around 6:30 or 7 p.m.," he says. "By the time a nurse gets a change to sit down and eat anything, it's most of the time after 10 p.m. And at that time, most places close, and delivery options are fairly limited."
Espinosa changes that landscape with Savory. Hospital staff—or anyone within the company's served zip codes—can visit Savory's website and place an order after 6 p.m. Deliveries begin at 10 p.m. Meals run around $10 and Savory charges a $3 delivery fee, which includes tax and tip.
Currently, Savory serves Arlington and select D.C. zip codes. (A look at Savory's
delivery map shows the startup eventually serving most of D.C., with the exception of areas east of the river. Elevation DC asked Espinosa about this, and he said:
"We have plans to serve that market in the future. Getting across the water is a challenge right now and we don't want to extend our delivery times too far past 30 minutes.")
Espinosa has partnered with Bradley Curtis, the former executive chef at
Flight Wine Bar, to create and execute Savory's menus. A third cofounder, Rosemary Ferrer, handles design and marketing for the team.
Savory is looking for more delivery drivers; Espinosa says that Curtis will be hiring line chefs "within the next few weeks." A Savory app for iOS is planned for later this spring.
This article has been updated to include commentary from Espinosa on his startup's ultimate delivery radius.