Crave makes its mark in Idaho food service

Following successful launch of its collective, hospitality group licenses proprietary Crave Technology software to local providers

Crave is making a big mark in the local dining scene in Idaho, largely due to the launch of its wildly successful virtual food hall/ghost kitchen. The concept is unique in that customers can assemble meals by mixing up different menu items from diverse restaurants. The result: a full-service dining experience that brings top-notch food right to the customer’s doorstep.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said Devin Wade, co-founder and CEO of Crave Hospitality Group. “We have over 16,000 current customers, with over half of them enjoying Crave multiple times a month. We are nearing our 100,000th order. Our customers like to try different dishes — mixing and matching between restaurant concepts — which makes Crave the perfect solution for families and office catering.”

The Crave Collective is a local startup that was funded with $10 million dollars by two venture funds in Boise and over 20 local investors. Today, it is made up of many local award-winning chefs, and in less than two years of operation, the company is expanding rapidly. There are (at the time of this writing) 17 different restaurants involved with the collective preparing food for Treasure Valley residents. Crave also has 250 employees, currently, and plans to add another 100 this year alone.

“Crave uses its own technology platform and its own drivers,” said Wade. “This is important to us because it allows Crave customers to order using the Crave delivery app or website and mix and match from any of the 17 kitchens on a single order. Now everyone gets exactly what they want, every time.” Customers simply pull up the Crave delivery app, make their restaurant selection and receive their food within the hour.

Entering the tech space

Crave’s newest company addition is its proprietary software, which is licensed by restaurants, food halls and ghost kitchens. Wade said, “It’s a complete solution that includes white-labeled apps and websites for ordering, kitchen management for multiple brands/items in one location, inventory management, delivery logistics and other delivery platforms.”

Clients licensing the software can use their own point-of-sale and payment-processing systems or use Crave’s. Customers also have the option to select additional modules in Crave’s stack of technology to grow their business but are only required to pay for the solutions they need or choose.

“These solutions allow our customers to maximize their revenue creation from existing spaces by adding other brands made available only for delivery,” said Wade. The majority of Crave’s software customers are based in New York City, because that is where they initially focused their marketing efforts. In Idaho, their first software customer is a new food hall.

Looking ahead, Crave’s one-of-a-kind business model doesn’t plan to do anything else except keep expanding. In fact, the future looks deliciously bright. The company is already ramping up for significant growth around the country. There are three new Crave locations opening around the country this year in Boise, Dallas and Salt Lake City. Nine other locations are currently in the works — another in Salt Lake City, five more in Dallas, and one each in Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. Wade said, “We appreciate the community’s support and welcome all to try Crave if they haven’t or order again tonight if they have.”

*This article originally appear in Idaho Business Review’s 2021 Book of Lists publication.