Amazon Partners With Olo: Chipotle, Shake Shack Begin Fast Casual Delivery

Amazon’s latest partnership will expand its offerings in yet another field: direct food delivery. The online retailer will work with restaurant delivery service group Olo to bolster its Amazon Restaurants delivery program.

As part of the partnership, Amazon will integrate its Restaurants delivery service into Olo’s existing systems for "fast casual" restaurants. Olo, which provides the technical resources for online ordering and pickup at restaurants, counts Chipotle, Shake Shack and Applebee’s among its existing partners.

“We’re thrilled to work with Amazon to provide Olo’s base of restaurant customers with a new delivery sales channel that drives increased visibility,” Olo CEO Noah Glass said in a statement. “Amazon’s obsession with providing great customer and restaurant experience supports the evolving expectations and behaviors of today’s consumer. We’re excited to connect more of Olo’s restaurant brands with Amazon Restaurants.”

For Amazon, the move isn’t its first exploration into restaurant delivery. In 2015, Amazon first launched early tests into food deliveries and expanded it to cities including Las Vegas, Houston and Dallas. The service is currently available to Amazon Prime members.

In a statement, Amazon Restaurants general manager Gus Lopez said the partnership will help fortify Amazon Restaurants’ resources.

“We are excited to leverage Olo’s digital ordering technology and continue rapidly growing our network of restaurants to give Amazon Prime members more options for fast delivery from their favorite brands,” Lopez said. “This integration will enable Amazon Restaurants to onboard new restaurants with ease, as well as quickly add more new choices and delivery options for customers.”

At the moment, it’s still early along in the partnership for both companies and no major restaurant chains have yet come on board to Amazon Restaurants. But with Amazon’s scale and integration with Restaurants — Prime subscribers can even order meals with Alexa — it likely won’t be long before namebrand Olo partners take advantage of Amazon’s scope. In most cities, Amazon Restaurants’ roster is primarily filled with local or area restaurants.

The move also speaks to Amazon’s increasing interest in broadening its reach to consumers. Like its acquisition of Whole Foods earlier this year, Amazon wants to maintain a foothold in shoppers’ daily habits and expanding its restaurant ordering tools fits in with this larger picture. For Amazon, it wants to make it easy for Prime Customers to order Chipotle or Shake Shack directly through your Amazon Echo.

Amazon’s expansion with Olo also makes it the latest company to invest in the delivery space. Competitors like UberEats have been aggressively investing in expansion and upon the initial Amazon news, GrubHub shares dropped $3 before climbing back up later in the day.