Special Delivery

Until recently, unless you lived in New York City or Los Angeles, your food delivery options were limited to pizza and Chinese. But a Baltimore-based online food-delivery company is making the city your oyster—or crab cake, or gyro, or burger.

Founded by Jason Kwicien and Chris Jeffery, OrderUp is a website that allows customers to order from scores of Baltimore’s most popular restaurants, from My Thai to Atwater’s. Then, when the food is ready, a driver will pick it up and deliver it to your door, all for a nominal delivery fee and optional tip, plus the cost of food.

The business grew out of an online menu guide Kwicien and Jeffery started with some friends in 2009. By late 2009 though, Kwicien and Jeffery has struck out on their own into the delivery business. “We had bigger aspirations,” says Jeffery.

Now, from the company’s 15,000-square-foot Canton headquarters, they oversee operations in 38 markets nationwide, including Baltimore, which officially launched in late 2014, and Towson, which started in February. (Their business plan targeted large college towns before moving on to bigger markets.)

Though Baltimore City’s service area includes only waterfront neighborhoods right now, Jeffery promises they’ll extend their range soon. “We’re trying to get there as quickly as we possibly can,” he says. “We’re trying to get everywhere as quickly as we possibly can.”