Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub & Guesthouses owner Paul Hadfield has added his name to the list of local food and beverage representatives who say they are owed money by delivery service Tutti.
He sent Tutti an email on Thursday saying, “how profoundly disappointed I was.”
Hadfield, a former president of Think Local First Society and a board member of the Victoria chapter of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, had championed Tutti in its early days. Think Local First promotes local businesses.
“Tutti just seemed like such a great fit,” he said Friday.
Spinnakers Brewpub and Spinnakers Spirit Merchants are both owed money by Tutti, Hadfield said. He declined to reveal the amount.
Tutti signs contracts with individual restaurants, which agree to a set percentage of the sale for the delivery company, which collects payment on behalf of the owners. The delivery service agrees to send the amount paid — minus the delivery fee — to restaurants via direct deposits on a regular agreed-upon schedule.
The appeal of Tutti was that it launched as a local business in Victoria in 2017 with rates considerably lower than other services.
Local restaurants said they paid 10 to 15 per cent.
Hadfield said that other larger delivery services put a lot of effort into marketing and expansion. That causes him to wonder about the sustainability of various delivery options and how the restaurant business will look like in the future. “We are all still trying to figure out how the world works post-pandemic. …
“It’s just so unfortunate when small players lose money that they really can’t afford to lose.”
Food delivery services these days include SkipTheDishes, DoorDash and Uber. Some restaurants deliver their own products.
Hadfield signed up with Tutti early in the pandemic. Initially, payment came in on time.
Similar to other local restaurants who say they are owed thousands of dollars, Hadfield said the relationship with Tutti “seemed to change sometime in the spring.”
Spinnakers had been reaching out to Tutti for payment and received the same responses given to others that payment was forthcoming or was in the mail but funds remain outstanding, he said.
Other Greater Victoria restaurants and food outlets saying they are owed thousands of dollars by Tutti include Fol Epi and Agrius ($4,000 in total), Soupa (amount not disclosed), Cold Comfort Ice Cream Shop ($4,253), and Roast, La Pasta La Pizza and the Taco Stand ($6,000 in total).
Members of the region’s tight-knit food service community say they are talking about what is happening in order to prevent other businesses from losing money.
Fort Street’s J & J Wonton Noodle House has filed a claim in B.C. Supreme Court stating it is owed $220,775. A justice granted a garnishing order in late June for $197,120 to be held by the court pending a judgement.
The Noodle House filed its claim against Kavl Technology Ltd., parent company of Tutti, and Kaisa Aierken, chief executive of Tutti.
Kavl Technology Ltd. is “not in good standing” according to the B.C. company registry.
Its most recent annual report was filed in March 2021, with Kavl director Aierken having a city of Vancouver address.
Kavl was incorporated March 24, 2017. Annual reports were filed regularly in March but there has not been one filed so far this year, according to the registry.
Aierken did not respond to an email Friday requesting comment.
Tutti website says it has expanded to other communities, listing Nanaimo, Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Squamish, Chilliwack and Maple Ridge.
In Kamloops, the Sahali Tongdak Korean Fried Chicken restaurant signed up with Tutti earlier in the pandemic but only remained with the service for a short time, said Yea Bae, whose parents own the restaurant. She carries out management duties and does social media.
The restaurant joined when there was a great offer to help promote the business, she said.
However, payment was made only after repeated requests and they did not continue with the service, Bae said.
