page_title: Take-out
section_title: Service
hierarchical_section_title: Take-out / Business operation / Service
caption_attribution_description: English: Moped used for pizza delivery in Hong KongDeutsch: Roller des Pizzaservice Pizza Hut in Hong KongPizza Hut Delivery
context_page_description: A take-out or takeout; carry-out or to-go; take-away; takeaways; grab-n-go; and parcel is a prepared meal or other food items, purchased at a restaurant or fast food outlet that the purchaser intends to eat elsewhere. A concept found in many ancient cultures, take-out food is common worldwide, with a number of different cuisines and dishes on offer.
context_section_description: Take-out food can be purchased from restaurants that also provide sit-down table service or from establishments specialising in food to be taken away. Providing a take-out service saves operators the cost of cutlery, crockery and pay for servers and hosts; it also allows many customers to  be served quickly, without restricting sales by remaining to eat their food.
  Food carts/Street food - Although once popular in Europe and America, street food has declined in popularity. In part, this can be attributed to a combination of the proliferation of specialized takeaway restaurants and legislation relating to health and safety. Vendors selling street food are still common in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with the annual turnover of street food vendors in Bangladesh and Thailand being described as particularly important to the local economy.
  Drive-through - Many restaurants and take-out establishments offer drive-through or drive-thru outlets that allow customers to order, pay for, and receive food without leaving their cars. The idea was pioneered in 1931 in a California fast food restaurant, Pig Stand Number 21. By 1988, 51% of McDonald's turnover was being generated by drive-throughs, with 31% of all US take-out turnover being generated by them by 1990.
  Food delivery - Some take-out businesses offer prepared food for delivery, which usually involves contacting a local restaurant by telephone or online. In countries including Australia, Canada, India, Brazil, Japan, much of the European Union and the United States, food can be ordered online from a menu, then picked up by the customer or delivered by the restaurant or a third party delivery service. The industry has kept pace with technological developments since the 1980s, beginning with the rise of the personal computer and continuing with the rise of mobile devices and online delivery applications. Specialized computer software for food delivery helps determine the most efficient routes for carriers, track order and delivery times, manage calls and orders with PoS software, and other functions. Since 2008 satellite navigation tracking technology has been used for real-time monitoring of delivery vehicles by customers over the Internet.
  Food delivery services - A restaurant can either maintain its own delivery personnel or use third parties who contract with restaurants to not only deliver food orders but also assist in marketing and providing order-taking technology. The field has seen rapid growth since the late 2000s with the spread of the smart phones and apps enabling customers to order from their mobile devices. According to a study cited the New York Times, as of 2019, three companies account for nearly 80 percent of the US restaurant food delivery market:  GrubHub, UberEats and  Doordash. Competition for market share has been fierce, with smaller competitors either being bought out or closing down. Amazon Restaurants announced in June 2019 that it was closing its restaurant food delivery service to concentrate on grocery delivery.
  Some businesses offer a guarantee to deliver within a predetermined period of time, with late deliveries not charged for. For example, Domino's Pizza had a commercial campaign in the 1980s and early 1990s which promised "30 minutes or it's free". This was discontinued in the United States in 1993 due to the number of lawsuits arising from accidents caused by hurried delivery drivers.
caption: A Scooter used for Pizza Hut pizza delivery in Hong Kong.
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