Good Uncle’s UMD service now has a larger menu and more drop points

Good Uncle, a delivery-only restaurant, now has extended hours of operations, more drop points and a larger menu at the University of Maryland.

The company now has about four times as many drop points, healthier additions to its menu and is running late-night service until 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the rest of this semester. It previously ran until midnight on those days, and still runs until then every other day of the week.

Good Uncle co-founder Matt Doumar said there was a “huge uptick” in customers and new users since the changes were implemented, which began after the hard launch on March 26.

Good Uncle initially launched at this university on Feb. 15, and by March, it had seven drop points, none of which were on North Campus. There are now four times the original number of drop points, which include points near McKeldin Library and the Ellicott and Denton communities. Many of the new points serve the North Campus community, Doumar said.

The company’s menu, which includes sandwiches, pasta and subs, also expanded to include healthier options such as stir fry, salad, wraps and bowls, Doumar said.

“We heard a lot of feedback about wanting more wholesome, everyday eating,” Doumar said, “so we delivered on that for the customer.”

Caleigh Crawford, a sophomore bioengineering major, said Good Uncle still doesn’t have as large a selection as she’d like. She said unless she is feeling “particularly lazy,” she would get something to eat on Route 1.

“Route 1 has Asian food and pasta and pizza or whatever I could possibly want,” Crawford said.

The restaurant is also expected to begin offering a brunch service in the next couple weeks, Doumar said. Those offerings will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, he said, adding that customers will be able to order meals — such as bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches or breakfast burritos — in the next couple weeks.

Sophomore Arabic major Tamir Stahler also said the menu didn’t have a lot of options, but he was looking forward to the prospect of Good Uncle brunch.

“Their menu’s a bit slim right now,” Stahler said. “It’d be nice to see something in the brunch realm.”

The company has plans to keep building upon its service after this semester, Doumar said. Lunch hours and Good Uncle meal plans will likely come to this university in the fall semester.

At both Syracuse University and University of Delaware, Good Uncle offers meal plans where users can guarantee two, four or seven Good Uncle meals per week, Doumar said. It gives students a way to supplement or replace their university meal plans, he said.

Good Uncle’s website says the meal plans cost $24 for two meals, $48 for four meals and $84 for seven meals at the University of Delaware. Signing up for the meal plan also comes with perks such as access to exclusive items, Doumar said.

Students in dorms without private kitchens are required to have a meal plan at this university, Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple said. The Good Uncle meal plans could give students not living in dorms more options for food, he said.
“This semester is about raising awareness of Good Uncle, getting people to fall in love with the brand and the food,” Doumar said. “After the first semester, we give students the opportunity to become a Good Uncle member and all of the perks and benefits that that affords.”

Good Uncle’s model is the future of restaurants, said Good Uncle co-founder Wiley Cerilli last month. Cerilli said it will take time to get people to understand that Good Uncle’s vans are cooking food on their way to the drop points, and not delivering food prepared earlier.

Freshman biology major Brian Hersey said he didn’t know what the vans were for when he saw them until his friends told him. He said he still hasn’t tried it, but thinks it’s a good business model.

“I usually don’t order food, but I guess if maybe one of my friends did and they let me try some and I really like it, I don’t know, that might convince me,” Hersey said.