Poppy + Rose: SoCal comfort food is on the move in DTLA

“There’s something to be said about just a good stack of pancakes,” says Diana Yin. “Or a solid burger – it doesn’t have to have truffles.” And so far, her take on what comfort food can be in Southern California is working.

Diana owns Poppy + Rose, a local hotspot in LA’s downtown Flower District. With enough success under her belt, Diana felt she was ready to unlock a new channel of growth for her business. She wanted to get her sweet and savory classics into people’s hands – without the discomfort of having to manage her own delivery staff.

Looking back, Diana never thought she’d open or manage a restaurant in the first place. She cut her teeth in PR, representing national food brands and award-winning chefs. Her foodie roots and passion for comfort cuisine eventually led her down the path of entrepreneurship – and crispy fried chicken sandwiches.

Once Diana opened Poppy + Rose, the neighborhood came knocking. She was overwhelmed with customer demand – especially for delivery. This proved tricky for her small business.

Diana recalls, “When we first opened, I was personally running delivery and taking orders over the phone. It was exhausting. We tried a few third-party services, but they were unreliable. So then we hired an in-house driver.”

Managing an in-house delivery staff wasn’t working out. Diana found she was paying her delivery staff more or less to hang out during Poppy + Rose’s slower hours. Then there were quality control issues.

Diana decided to join the Uber Eats platform – precisely so she’d no longer need to worry about managing an internal delivery staff of her own. “It’s been the best solution for us,” she says. “The [delivery people using the Uber Eats platform] are timely....there’s less of a chance for food to get cold or sit for a long time.”

The icing on the cake? (Or in Diana’s case, the syrup on the waffle?) the Uber Eats platform is helping her reach new customers in different neighborhoods – even outside LA’s Flower District. As Diana puts it, “Uber Eats extends our brand awareness to neighborhoods that wouldn’t normally be exposed to us.” Now that’s delicious.