Food delivery exploded in the last five years, especially, and became a necessity for many during the COVID pandemic, further entrenching the service into the fabric of daily U.S. life.
New York City alone now has more than 65,000 food delivery workers, and one major fast food chain is partnering up with its New York operators to improve those workers' daily lives.
Chick-fil-A says it will open The Brake Room, a limited-time experience on the Upper East Side (1477 Third Ave., between E. 83rd St. and E. 84th St.) to the entire delivery community.
No borough saw higher numbers of Chick-fil-A deliveries in the winter months of 2022, the company says, which is why it opted to put The Brake Room where data shows it's needed most. It opens Thursday, Feb. 16, and stays open through Thursday, April 13.
Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Access is free. All food delivery workers have to do is to show proof of at least one Chick-fil-A delivery in the last week on their driver profiles for DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, Caviar or Seamless, the company says.
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The rest hub will offer bathrooms, bike storage, outlets for phone chargers, comfortable seating, Wi-Fi and beverages.
"In metro areas like New York City, we see the same food delivery workers come through nearly every day of the week, several times a day, and how taking an extra second to warm-up between deliveries or offering a glass of water helps to fuel them on for their shift," Jared Caldwell, a Chick-fil-A restaurant owner and operator in NYC, said in a statement.
"The food delivery community helps to power our businesses, and this is just our small way of showing appreciation for all they do," he added. Learn more here.
