Pioneer company Good2Go grows in crowded food delivery space

Lisa Garman worked as a waitress while pursuing an acting career. Since she has been there and done that, Ms. Garman understands how restaurants work. And with that knowledge, the Quad Cities entrepreneur now is beginning her 15th year of helping those in the restaurant business deliver their food through her Good2Go delivery service. Her […]

Lisa Garman worked as a waitress while pursuing an acting career. Since she has been there and done that, Ms. Garman understands how restaurants work. And with that knowledge, the Quad Cities entrepreneur now is beginning her 15th year of helping those in the restaurant business deliver their food through her Good2Go delivery service. Her first-in-the-region business appeared long before today’s widely advertised and well-known national food delivery services found their way to the Quad Cities.

“I’m fortunate to have a good system, good software, and a good staff,” Ms. Garman told the QCBJ. She’s fortunate, too, she added, to have learned how to market herself — a transferable skill from acting.  In fact, prior to her startup delivery business she had been doing acting and voice work in New York City until she returned home in 2005 looking to fill a niche. What was missing in the Quad Cities, she recalled thinking. She had seen delivery services in New York and thought, why not here?  The concept has been around since 1979. Still, it wasn’t easy without computers and cell phones. It didn’t hurt her chances in those early days of her business that a good friend had just purchased the Circle Tap on West Locust in Davenport and told her it would be a valuable service. “They had customers who’d moved further away or couldn’t make the run there and back during their lunch time,” Ms. Garman said.

Looking back

The first few years were the toughest and there was a lot to learn, for example, on Valentine’s Day 2010. “I didn’t see it coming.  It was a real rite of passage — our business exploded,” she said. It turned out to be a big night to impress customers, but she worried she didn’t have enough drivers to get it done. It never occurred to her that Valentine’s Day could be, and is, the busiest day of the year for delivery. That’s, in part, because so many people delay buying a gift and then need something fast — like a romantic dinner from their favorite restaurant. Ms. Garman said she had to divide her office floor into QC quadrants – putting all the orders there to better “see” how to improve delivery flow. Over her first 14 years, her business model has changed.  “For one, the technology,” she said. “There have been changes in the gig economy, too, as (delivery is) appealing as a part-time or second job.  And if a restaurant doesn’t have its own on-line ordering platform, the customer can pick up their food through Good2Go’s site.”  Her mantra has been “adapt, pivot, respond.” Another added value is “promotion.” “I actively market my restaurant partners, promoting their brand,” she said. And she does it for free, versus other services that may charge more to list a place higher on the website.

New national competition  

Also since Good2Go’s launch, some national services have jumped into the Quad Cities including GrubHub, Door Dash and Uber Eats.  Has it been hard to convince new restaurant partners to use her service? “I really didn’t know if the ‘big’ boys were going to crush us or not,” Ms. Garman said. She did lose volume because of all the delivery services — too many for this market, she claims. But a bigger concern was how the competitors treated restaurateurs and how the latter responded. For example, she focuses on vetting her drivers before hiring. Why? Other food delivery services have left restaurants with a bad experience, making it harder for Good2Go to sign up a new partner. “It spoils the marketplace,” she says.

Good2Go drivers

John James, a Good2Go driver, showed up at Granite City in Bettendorf one recent morning at 10 a.m. before the restaurant opened. He picked up a large delivery of eight bags of food. He’s retired on disability and is limited to what work he can do, so this delivery job fits his needs, gets him out of the house and brings in a little extra money. He also praised Ms. Garman saying she is “very protective of her drivers, do anything for you, to make things safe for us.” Granite City’s General Manager Dustin Erickson appreciates the dependable Good2Go drivers, and also said Ms. Garman is easy to work with and quick to correct any mistakes. “Delivery has really grown since the pandemic and we’ve seen more customers come in person after receiving delivery.”

Restaurant support

Antonia Sgro agrees with Mr. Erickson’s sentiments about delivery bringing customers into her eatery. Her Italian restaurant, Antonella's, has moved from downtown Davenport’s Third Street to the Freight House Market on the Mississippi River, and she can’t recommend Good2Go enough. Asked what she likes about Good2Go, she replied “I don’t know where to begin.” She’s proud of Ms. Garman for sustaining a local, small business and creating jobs. She says Ms. Garman, “is always on  the job, goes beyond the minimum, even checking in to see how our business is doing.” Ryan Mosley of Harris Pizza also is proud to partner with Good2Go and has been with Ms. Garman since 2010. “The whole process is seamless for us,” he said. “The drivers are usually prompt to pick up the order so they can deliver it nice and hot out-the-door to the customer.” To use Good2Go’s delivery services, customers place their order online at Good2Goqc.com or call (563) 322-2220. Ms. Garman’s mobile app is www.Good2GoQC.com.  “We then place the order, pick it up, handle the payment, and deliver it,” Ms. Garman said. These days Good2Go works with more than 20 QC restaurants — having started with just five. Now more than a decade later, she’s adding more restaurant partners and menus to the roster — and expanding her midday service to accommodate more late lunches, snacks and early dinner deliveries. Her drivers also will be starting their days earlier on Saturdays and Sundays. Good2Go also has expanded to meet demand by working with different companies to provide delivery of small packages, prescriptions, floral arrangements and more.   QCBJ