Alex Bangs, on left, and Aubrey Reisner, along with Chris Johnson bought the bike delivery service Quickness from the founder who launched the company more than a decade ago. (Jack Jacobs)
A long-running local delivery service is now being steered by new owners.
Quickness RVA, which uses bicyclists to deliver food orders from Richmond restaurants, has been acquired by Alex Bangs, Aubrey Reisner and Chris Johnson.
The trio had been working as delivery riders for Quickness before their purchase of the company from Frank Bucalo, who launched the business more than a decade ago. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Bucalo, who has lived in New York City since 2016, said he was motivated to sell the business because it had become too difficult to run things from afar, though in recent years local managers, the latest being Bangs, had come to handle more responsibilities. The distance made it challenging to make and maintain the relationships with local restaurants that Bucalo said are key to the company’s operation.
“I didn’t feel as connected to the city (of Richmond) and the restaurant owners,” Bucalo said. That was the biggest thing when I started, forming relationships and bonds with restaurant owners. That’s something that always made Quickness stand apart.”
Bucalo founded Quickness in 2010 shortly after he moved to Richmond from his native New York. The company launched several years before national operators DoorDash and Uber Eats entered the local market. Bucalo mused that Quickness has been able to hold its own against those larger competitors at least in part because enough Richmond restaurant operators value having a local delivery service, even when it’s pricier than other options.
“There are some who use us exclusively and like the idea that it’s a small business. That might just come down to the attitude in Richmond,” said Bucalo, who currently works for New York City courier service Samurai Messenger.
Conversations about a sale started a couple years ago and evolved over time before the deal closed in the spring. Originally Bangs was going to be the sole owner. Later talks shifted to a six-person cooperative taking over. That vision fizzled out and ultimately a smaller group took on ownership, one that Bucalo said he felt would be able to keep the business going.
“I was happy to pass it on to people who have the same passion and interest,” he said.
Under the new owners, Quickness will look to expand its non-restaurant deliveries and is working on lining up agreements with local retailers to complement its existing focus on food orders.
Another goal is to increase its roster of restaurants. About 20 businesses, nearly all of them restaurants, are listed on the Quickness website. Eateries include Sticky Rice, Goatocado and Lift Coffee Shop & Cafe, among others, as well as retailers Shelf Life Books and art store Supply.
In June, the new ownership launched a revamped website to handle ordering and implemented a 15% service fee on orders through Quickness. The company also charges a fee to businesses to access delivery service.
Bangs said Quickness is able to compete against the likes of DoorDash and Uber Eats because it operates conservatively. The company will make deliveries only within 3.5 miles of a given restaurant. While Quickness hopes to increase its restaurant client base, it wants to stay focused on city-based eateries.
“It just doesn’t scale that well,” Bangs said of food delivery. “Anything over 4 miles, particularly on a bike, just takes too long even when you’re really good.”
Though a previous attempt at a cooperative didn’t materialize, Bangs said in an interview in August that Quickness was still considering a cooperative ownership model as a way to sustain the operation.
“There’s not technically get-rich money in the industry,” he said. “We can open it up into a cooperative where we all have a good, decent job.”
Bangs said Quickness had about a dozen riders, including the owners and contractors, as of last month.
All the love for Quickness for being a great local small business.
Remember what Mick Jagger said – “When you are out on your bike at night, wear white.”
Quickness has been around for so long, sometimes I take it for granted. Maybe I’ll have to order a book or something and have it delivered.