Bite Squad: From A Handful Of Drivers In MN To Thousands Across The US

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Have you recently ordered food for delivery from your phone using Uber Eats, Doordash, or even Bite Squad? If you said "yes", it turns out you're not alone.

The third-party food delivery service is projected to grow more than 13 percent in the next year, according to one leading food industry strategy firm.

One door-to-door service, Bite Squad, got its start right here in the Twin Cities.

It's been a big year for CFO and Edina native Jeff Yurecko. He has played a huge part in the company's expansion and that's what makes him a Minnesotan to Meet.

When the company first launched in 2012, it had just handful of drivers.

A quick tour of Minneapolis-based Bite Squad's headquarters and it's tough to grasp just how big their delivery service has become. It started as a bare bones operation in 2012. Now, the company is dispatching 4,000 drivers across the country.

"The technology is really what's been behind driving the growth of the company," said Yurecko.

Yurecko said their third party delivery service isn't just for college kids looking for late night food, but really anyone who is looking convenience at meal time.

"Anybody who has used a smart phone or ordered a pizza is really our target demo," Yurecko said.

Their footprint of drivers in the Twin Cities is large with 700 drivers. The Edina native has played a large role in the company's expansion in the last year, which acquired 17 local smaller delivery companies.

"Our tablets, our mobile app, our logistics behind everything we are doing allows us to to really scale and grow, we can enter local markets and partner and really grow them help them augment their existing business," he said.

Now you can find their service from coast to coast: Honolulu, Hawaii, Little Rock, Arkansas, Orlando, Florida. The busiest time for their employees here at the dispatch center, no surprise - meal time.

"It'll peak up just before lunch time and we have our catering team a lot of corporate lunch deliveries and it will spike up again for the dinner rush," Yurecko said.

Yurecko says now that they have a larger share of the market, this year their focus is still growth, but also on delivery excellence.

"I think it's going to be a combination of continued growth, but we will try and provide the most reliable service we possibly can," Yurecko said.

Co-founder and CEO of bite squad, Kian Salehi, is a University of Minnesota graduate. We tried to snag him down for an interview but his travel schedule was too busy.

After visiting the headquarters, Ali Lucia learned about one of their best customers. He also happens to be a pretty good athlete. Apparently, Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo doesn't' do much cooking. He took his love to next level by doing surprise deliveries.