New delivery app for independent restaurants hits crowdfund target

An online food delivery platform that only works with independent restaurants has raised £100,000 on investment platform Seedrs.

Big Night was founded during the London lockdown by Charlie Mellor, owner of the Laughing Heart restaurant in Hackney, and digital product manager Pavel Baskakov.

Mellor says that after two weeks working with another delivery service he experienced more customer complaints than in nearly four years of trading as a restaurant.

"I realised that the only way to control the experience for our guests was to bring the entirety of the operation in-house," he said.

Big Night aims to be accessible to independent restaurants, with commissions capped at 6.5% while all drivers are paid a London living wage.

It claims more than 4,000 people have ordered through the platform since launch, with an average order value of £55.

The app currently works with London operators including Two Lights, Luca, Sager + Wilde, Levan, Royale, AngloThai, Legare and Mangal2.

It is looking to raise £100,000 on Seedrs to grow the platform, feature more restaurants and ‘experiences', and ultimately expand to other cities in the UK and abroad.

For more information and to view the Seedrs page click here