Gianna left the big delivery apps so she could control how many burritos she sells each day. Hotplate let her do that, with third-party delivery built right into her drops.
Gianna runs RITOS, a breakfast burrito business in New York City that sells only through Hotplate.
RITOS used to sell on Uber Eats and DoorDash, but there was no way to cap orders there. Gianna is a one-woman operation, so the only way to keep up was to open the store, take a wave of orders, pause, and cook. She moved to Hotplate so she could cap each drop and know exactly what each day would look like.
Gianna was one of the first chefs to try Hotplate's third-party delivery during our beta. Her experience below is from that beta.
Gianna's customers were used to getting their burritos delivered. Moving to Hotplate looked like it would mean pickup only, until she saw a notification about delivery on her very first day.
“But then I got the alert that you guys do delivery and I said, this is amazing."
Setup was easy. "It was completely intuitive," she said. "I didn't have any issues setting it up."
She was nervous about drivers at first, based on past experiences with other ordering services. Drivers assigned through Hotplate have shown up on time.
"Day one of using you guys, I was kind of scared, but the drivers have come exactly when I need them to. So that's been great."
Her customers followed her too. "What is Hotplate? What is Hotplate?” they asked at first. “And now everyone's on it. So far it's been easy for the customer" she says.
Delivery and pickup orders go through the exact same flow:
Gianna preps each order and bags it
She exports orders from Hotplate and has Claude format them into RITOS’s signature sticker labels
She labels each order
Bags go to the front for the pickup window, whether a customer or a driver is coming
"From the customer point of view, nothing's changed," she noted.
While drivers are on their way, she keeps her orders open on her laptop and watches for the arrival time to appear on each ticket.
Tips from Gianna's setup
Handle delivery and pickup orders the same way, so your team only learns one process.
Label each order clearly, so the right one goes to the right customer or driver.
Double-check each drop's pickup address before it goes live. That’s where drivers and customers go.
From the daily lineup to curated drops
RITOS started out by making their five-burrito lineup (The Classic, California, Veggie, Vegan, and Kids) available to order every day of the week.
Because Hotplate has given Gianna so much control over delivery and inventory, RITOS has been able to pivot into more curated, creative product releases. For three Sundays in October, she released the LAV x RITOS Chipotle Tahini Breakfast Burrito - a collaboration with the Armenian-inspired, NYC-based dressing company.
“Hotplate gave me total control over when I sell and how much I make, and that’s changed what RITOS can be. I’m not locked into the same menu every day anymore. I can do one-off collabs, like our chipotle tahini burrito with LAV, and our pop-up with Jack’s Stir Brew on November 23rd. I set up the drop, my customers know exactly where to find it, and I make exactly what I need.”
November's collab will be available for one day only: Monday the 23rd at Jack's Stir Brew Coffee in the MetLife Building. The Thanksgiving RITO is made with maple sausage, sage hashbrowns, soft scrambled eggs, sharp white cheddar, and house made spicy cranberry sauce. To be enjoyed with Jack's spiced maple NOLA - their classic New Orleans cold brew with warm cinnamon, cardamom, and maple.
If you're in New York, go to hotplate.com/ritos to snag your $5 reservation, which will secure your RITO and take $5 off when you pick it up.
How Gianna’s feedback shaped the feature
During the beta, we met with Gianna to see what could be improved. She wished there was a way to see all her deliveries and their statuses at a glance. In the old version, delivery tickets were interspersed among pickups, and she had to click into an individual ticket to get the status to update.
We redesigned the Orders tab to give chefs an easy way to view all their active deliveries at once.
[images coming soon]
Try delivery on your next drop
For Gianna, Hotplate meant being able to set per-day limits without giving up delivery, with drivers who show up when she needs them. If your customers have been asking for delivery, you can turn it on for your next drop in just a few clicks.
Subscribe at hotplate.com/ritos to get a text when RITOS drops. Follow on Instagram and TikTok and go to getritos.com to learn more about their ingredients and inquire about office catering.
