The Challenge
Like most independent restaurants, Inga Sandwiches faced the same trade-off nearly every food business runs into: rely on third-party delivery platforms for orders, and hand over 15-30% of every sale in commission a recurring cost that eats directly into already-thin margins, on every order, indefinitely.
Beyond the commission itself, going through a third-party platform meant the restaurant had no direct relationship with its own customers. No way to see who was ordering regularly. No way to run a loyalty program. No way to market to past customers without paying the platform again for the privilege. The business needed a way to serve its own customers directly without losing the convenience customers expect from ordering online.
The Solution
Rather than list on another delivery app, we built Inga Sandwiches a full ordering platform it owns outright a live, production web application, not a static menu page.
What was built:
- A live, self-editable menu the owner adds, removes, and reprices items directly through an admin panel, with no developer needed for routine changes
- A real cart and checkout flow customers browse, build an order, and check out with the same ease as any major delivery app
- A loyalty points system because the restaurant now owns the customer relationship directly, repeat customers earn and redeem points, something a third-party platform never made possible
- An order management dashboard incoming orders land in a live admin view staff can act on immediately, replacing the juggling of separate tablets for multiple delivery apps
- Role-based access and rider management built to support real day-to-day restaurant operations, not just a proof-of-concept storefront
The platform was built to be operated, not just launched the difference between a website and working software is what happens after go-live, when the business needs to run on it every single day without calling a developer for every small change.
The Process
Because commission structures and order volume vary restaurant to restaurant, the meaningful number here isn't a single exact figure it's the shape of the outcome, and it holds consistently:
- Commission-free ordering on every order placed directly through the platform no per-order cut going to a third party
- Directional savings in the 20-30% range per order compared to what a typical third-party delivery commission would have taken
- Direct ownership of the customer relationship repeat customers are now visible, trackable, and reachable through the loyalty system, rather than anonymous to the business
- No dependency on a delivery app's ranking algorithm to stay visible to existing customers
- Full pricing and promotion control, since no third-party platform takes a cut of any discount offered
The platform remains live and in active use today, handling real day-to-day order volume for the business.
The Results
This case study reflects a broader pattern worth knowing if you run a restaurant or any local business with repeat customers: the convenience of a third-party platform is real, but it's rented, not owned. A restaurant with an existing base of regular customers usually reaches a point where the commission cost of routing those familiar orders through someone else's app outweighs the discovery benefit that platform once provided. Owning the ordering system directly even while keeping a presence on delivery apps for new-customer discovery shifts that math permanently in the restaurant's favor.
Considering something similar for your own restaurant or business?
I design and build custom ordering platforms, admin dashboards, and full web applications not just template sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
Commission rates commonly range from 15% to 30% per order, depending on the platform and plan tier.
No. Many restaurants keep a presence on delivery apps for new-customer discovery while directing repeat, local customers to their own commission-free ordering platform.
At minimum, a self-editable menu, a working cart and checkout flow, and an admin dashboard for managing orders — a loyalty or repeat-customer system is where much of the long-term value comes from.