Amazon Launches Restaurant Delivery in Baltimore

The retail giant is moving swiftly ahead with plans to compete in the hot food delivery space.

Amazon Prime members in Baltimore are now able to order restaurant delivery using the retail giant's Prime Now service. Over 50 restaurants in 10 zip codes in and around downtown Baltimore have signed up for the launch; Amazon's team plans to add other restaurants in coming weeks.

For a limited time, users are also able to take advantage of the service's one-hour delivery option for free. Amazon says most deliveries will take an hour or less any way, but the free delivery for a limited time is clearly a way to incentivize existing Amazon users to sign up for Prime. Because so many people already use Amazon as a one-stop shop, it isn't too far of a leap to ask customers to order dinner to be delivered after renting a movie on Amazon's streaming service.

Amazon's Prime Now app mimics some of the best features of competitive services, including delivery giant Seamless/Grubhub, the rapidly expanding Postmates, and the upstart UberEats: Users can search by type of food, look through menus, and track their delivery driver's progress on a map from restaurant to their door.

Gus Lopez, general manager of Amazon's new Restaurants department said in a statement: "We're excited to offer Amazon Prime customers a fast and convenient way to enjoy some of the city's best restaurants without having to drive or take a water taxi."

A partial list of Baltimore's participating restaurants:

· Acropolis Restaurant
· Agora Organic Market
· Alewife Baltimore
· Amiccis
· B Doughnut
· Brewer's Cask
· Brown Rice Korean Grill
· Cardinal Tavern
· Cazbar
· Ceriello Fine Italian Foods
· Cheese Galore and More
· City Cafe
· Cockey's Restaurant & Bar
· David and Dad's
· Donna's
· Duda's Tavern
· Falafelicious
· Felici Café
· HomeSlyce
· Ikaros Restaurant
· Indigma
· Jukai Juice
· La Cuchara
· La Tavola
· Langermann's
· Liam Flynn's Ale House
· Locust Point Steamers
· Maiwand Grill
· Mario's Original Pizza
· Matsuri
· Mother's Federal Hill Grille
· Our House
· Pasticcio Italian Kitchen
· Peace & A Cup of Joe
· Phaze 10
· Pizza Mart
· Poblano Mexican Grill
· Roberto's Pizzeria Italiana
· Rosina Gourmet
· Saigon Today
· Saturday Morning Cafe
· Shareef's Grill House of Wraps
· Sip & Bite Restaurant
· Soprano's Pizza
· Souvlaki Authentic Greek Cuisine
· Thai Landing
· The Laughing Pint
· The Local Fry
· Van Gough Cafe
· Verde
· West Indian Flavour
· Zaatar Mediterranean Cuisine

Amazon's restaurant delivery service is part of a dual-pronged mission. The company first hopes to encourage more existing users to sign up for its Prime service, which charges an annual fee but comes with perks like free delivery and video streaming. The second part of Amazon's plan is straightforward: It sees an opportunity to expand into the restaurant delivery sphere.

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