History of Grubhub in Timeline
Grubhub Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, operates as a prominent American online and mobile platform dedicated to facilitating the ordering and delivery of prepared food. Users can leverage Grubhub's services to conveniently browse menus from a diverse selection of restaurants, place orders, and track deliveries through their website or mobile app.
1999: SeamlessWeb Founded
Jason Finger, a New York lawyer, founded SeamlessWeb in 1999 to provide businesses with a web-based platform for ordering food from restaurants and caterers.
2004: Grubhub Founded
Grubhub was founded in 2004 by Mike Evans and Matt Maloney as an alternative to paper menus.
2005: SeamlessWeb Launches Consumer Ordering Service
In 2005, SeamlessWeb introduced a free ordering service for individual diners, complementing its existing corporate ordering platform.
April 2006: SeamlessWeb Acquired by Aramark
Aramark acquired SeamlessWeb in April 2006 and integrated it into its Food, Hospitalities, and Facilities segment.
2006: Grubhub Wins Business Plan Competition
In 2006, Maloney and Evans won first place in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business's Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge for their Grubhub business plan.
November 2007: Grubhub Secures Series A Funding
Grubhub secured $1.1 million in Series A funding in November 2007, led by Amicus Capital and Origin Ventures, to expand into San Francisco and New York.
March 2009: Grubhub Raises Series B Funding
In March 2009, Grubhub raised $2 million in Series B funding led by Origin Ventures and Leo Capital.
2009: Jonathan Zabusky Becomes President of Seamless
Jonathan Zabusky was appointed president of Seamless in 2009.
November 2010: Grubhub Secures Series C Funding
Grubhub received $11 million in Series C funding led by Benchmark Capital in November 2010.
March 2011: Grubhub Raises $20 Million in Series D Funding
DAG Ventures led a $20 million Series D funding round for Grubhub in March 2011.
June 2011: Seamless Reprivatized, Changes Name
Seamless was re-privatized in June 2011 when Boston-based Spectrum Equity Associates made a $50 million minority investment, prompting a name change from SeamlessWeb to Seamless.
September 2011: Grubhub Raises Series E Funding, Acquires Dotmenu and AllMenus
In September 2011, Grubhub raised $50 million in Series E funding. This funding round coincided with their acquisitions of New York-based competitor Dotmenu, the parent company of Allmenus and Campusfood, and the acquisition of AllMenus.
September 2011: Seamless Acquires MenuPages
Seamless acquired MenuPages in September 2011.
February 2012: Seamless Releases iPad App
Seamless launched its iPad app in February 2012.
May 2013: Grubhub and Seamless Announce Merger
Grubhub and Seamless announced their merger in May 2013, with Seamless holding 58% equity and GrubHub holding 42% in the combined company.
August 2013: Grubhub and Seamless Merger Finalized
The merger of Grubhub and Seamless was finalized in early August 2013.
April 2014: Grubhub Seamless Goes Public
Grubhub Seamless went public in April 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol GRUB.
June 2014: Grubhub Starts Offering Delivery Services
Grubhub introduced delivery services for restaurants that didn't have their own delivery infrastructure in June 2014.
February 2015: Grubhub Acquires DiningIn and Restaurants on the Run
Grubhub expanded its reach in February 2015 by acquiring DiningIn, an online ordering and food delivery company based in Brighton, Massachusetts, and Restaurants on the Run, a corporate food delivery service in Aliso Viejo, California.
December 2015: Grubhub Acquires Delivered Dish
Grubhub further expanded its presence in December 2015 by acquiring Delivered Dish, a restaurant delivery service operating in seven markets across the Pacific Northwest and Southwest, including Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Portland, El Paso, and Albuquerque.
April 14, 2016: Lawsuit Alleges Price Fixing by Delivery Apps
Beginning on April 14, 2016, delivery apps like Grubhub faced accusations of using their market dominance to enforce price parity between dine-in and delivery menus, allegedly inflating costs for dine-in customers to subsidize delivery fees.
May 2016: Grubhub Acquires LAbite
In May 2016, Grubhub acquired LAbite, a restaurant delivery service based in Los Angeles.
November 10, 2016: Grubhub CEO's Anti-Trump Memo Sparks Controversy
On November 10, 2016, following Donald Trump's presidential election victory, Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney sent a company-wide memo expressing his rejection of Trump's political views and stating that employees who disagreed with his stance had "no place here." This sparked immediate controversy and calls for boycotts.
November 11, 2016: Grubhub CEO Clarifies Stance, but Boycott Continues
On November 11, 2016, Matt Maloney attempted to clarify his previous memo, stating his words were "misconstrued" and that he never asked employees who voted for Trump to resign. However, the hashtag #BoycottGrubHub continued to trend, and the company's shares dropped nearly 6%.
2016: Grubhub Expands Delivery to Over 50 U.S. Markets
By 2016, Grubhub's delivery services were available in over 50 markets across the United States.
August 2017: Grubhub Agrees to Acquire Eat24
In August 2017, Grubhub reached an agreement with Yelp to acquire Eat24 for $287.5 million, pending regulatory approval.
October 2017: Grubhub Completes Eat24 Acquisition
Following regulatory approval, Grubhub finalized its acquisition of Eat24 in October 2017.
2017: Grubhub Faces Lawsuit Over Driver Classification
In 2017, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan filed a lawsuit against Grubhub, alleging the company used misleading language, such as "blocks" instead of "shifts," to misclassify drivers as independent contractors.
February 2018: Grubhub Wins Lawson vs. Grubhub Case
In February 2018, a US Magistrate Judge ruled in favor of Grubhub in the Lawson vs. Grubhub case, finding that the company correctly classified plaintiff Raef Lawson as an independent contractor.
June 29, 2018: Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Grubhub
On June 29, 2018, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Grubhub in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois labor laws, including failure to pay overtime and minimum wage.
July 2018: Grubhub Expands Delivery to 28 New Cities
In July 2018, Grubhub expanded its delivery services to 28 additional cities in the United States.
September 2018: Grubhub Acquires Assets from OrderUp
Grubhub acquired specific assets from 11 franchisee-owned OrderUp markets in September 2018, following the acquisition of assets from 27 OrderUp markets in 2017.
September 2018: Grubhub Acquires LevelUp
In September 2018, Grubhub acquired LevelUp, a Boston-based diner engagement and payment solutions platform, for a reported $390 million in cash.
October 2018: Grubhub Completes OrderUp Acquisition
Grubhub finalized its acquisition of OrderUp in October 2018.
November 2018: Grubhub Acquires Tapingo
Grubhub acquired Tapingo, a San Francisco-based platform for campus food ordering, in November 2018.
2018: Grubhub Shuts Down Eat24 Brand
In late 2018, Grubhub discontinued the Eat24 brand.
March 2019: Grubhub Takes Over SkipTheDishes' U.S. Operations
Grubhub took over SkipTheDishes' operations in the United States in March 2019 after SkipTheDishes decided to exit the U.S. market.
June 2019: Grubhub Accused of Domain Name Squatting
In June 2019, reports surfaced accusing Grubhub of registering over 23,000 web domains using restaurant names without consent, allegedly to boost commissions and hinder restaurants' online presence. Grubhub disputed these claims, stating restaurants agreed to these terms in their contracts.
August 2019: Podcast Exposes Grubhub's "Referral Numbers"
In August 2019, the podcast "Underunderstood" revealed that Grubhub used "referral numbers" on Yelp listings, which could lead to restaurants being charged commission fees even without resulting orders.
2019: Grubhub User and Restaurant Growth
By 2019, Grubhub reached 19.9 million active users and partnered with 115,000 restaurants in 3,200 U.S. cities.
February 2020: Grubhub Launches Grubhub+
Grubhub launched its monthly subscription program, Grubhub+, in February 2020. Grubhub+ offers free, unlimited food delivery from participating restaurants for a monthly fee.
April 2020: New Yorkers File Class-Action Lawsuit Against Grubhub and Others
In April 2020, a group of New Yorkers filed a class-action lawsuit against Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats, accusing them of monopolistic practices by requiring restaurants to maintain consistent pricing for dine-in and delivery, ultimately harming consumers.
May 12, 2020: Uber Makes Takeover Offer to Grubhub
On May 12, 2020, Uber made a takeover offer to Grubhub.
June 9, 2020: Just Eat Takeaway Announces Agreement to Acquire Grubhub
On June 9, 2020, Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway announced it would acquire Grubhub for $7.3 billion in stock.
October 2020: Restaurants File Class-Action for Unauthorized Listings
In October 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Grubhub by restaurants alleging the company listed them on its platform without permission, causing reputational damage, loss of customer control, and inaccurate menu information.
2020: Grubhub Responds to Coronavirus Pandemic
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic in mid-2020, as demand for food delivery services surged, Grubhub prioritized driver safety by introducing contact-free delivery and offering pickup options for customers.
2020: Grubhub Launches Animated Commercials
Throughout 2020, Grubhub launched a series of animated television commercials showcasing people ordering food through their app.
January 2021: "Delivery Dance" Commercial Becomes a Meme
In January 2021, Grubhub's "Delivery Dance" commercial, featuring people dancing to "Soy Yo" by Bomba Estereo after ordering food, became a viral meme. While popular, the commercial was also criticized for being obnoxious and drew comparisons to a similar ad from Kroger.
April 1, 2021: Food Theorist Explores Grubhub Commercials
On April 1, 2021, Food Theorist YouTuber MatPat began a series exploring the theory that Grubhub's commercials were connected to the Nickelodeon shows "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" and "Fairly OddParents."
June 10, 2021: Grubhub Stockholders Approve Just Eat Takeaway Acquisition
On June 10, 2021, Grubhub stockholders approved the acquisition by Just Eat Takeaway.
June 15, 2021: Just Eat Takeaway Completes Grubhub Acquisition
The sale of Grubhub to Just Eat Takeaway was finalized on June 15, 2021. Grubhub's logo was updated to incorporate the Just Eat Takeaway house.
August 21, 2021: Food Theorist Concludes Grubhub Commercial Exploration
On August 21, 2021, Food Theorist YouTuber MatPat concluded his series exploring the possible connections between Grubhub commercials and Nickelodeon shows.
2021: California Bans Grubhub's Unauthorized Listing Practices
In 2021, California banned Grubhub and other delivery platforms from listing restaurants without their consent, citing the practice as abusive.
2021: Grubhub Partners with Yandex for Delivery Robots
In 2021, Grubhub partnered with Yandex to integrate Yandex's delivery robots into its platform for food deliveries on college campuses.
2021: Grubhub Acquired by Just Eat Takeaway
In 2021, Grubhub was acquired by the Dutch company Just Eat Takeaway.
April 2022: Just Eat Considers Selling Grubhub
In April 2022, Just Eat announced it was considering selling Grubhub due to pressure from activist investor Cat Rock Capital to focus on European markets.
May 17, 2022: Grubhub's Free Lunch Promotion Backfires
Grubhub's May 17, 2022, promotion offering free lunch in New York City backfired disastrously. The overwhelming demand of nearly 6,000 orders per minute crippled Grubhub's system and restaurants, leading to unfulfilled orders, wasted food, and frustrated customers and restaurant workers.
July 2022: Grubhub Partners with Amazon
In July 2022, Grubhub partnered with Amazon to offer Prime customers a free year of Grubhub+. This deal gave Amazon a 2% stake in the company, with the option to acquire up to 15% based on performance.
November 2022: Pennsylvania Sues Grubhub Over Price Transparency
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sued Grubhub in November 2022 for lack of transparency in pricing, alleging the platform failed to disclose potential price differences between orders placed through Grubhub versus directly from restaurants.
October 2023: Grubhub Driver Caught Tampering with Food Order
In October 2023, a Grubhub driver in Long Beach, California was caught on camera eating from a customer's order before repackaging and delivering it. The restaurant owner was able to intercept the order, but the incident raised concerns about food safety and the security of Grubhub's delivery system.
May 2024: Grubhub+ Included with Amazon Prime
In May 2024, Amazon announced that Grubhub+ would be permanently included with Amazon Prime memberships.
