When Uber Eats unilaterally increased prices for all of its restaurant partners, Rave Restaurant Group CEO Brandon Solano decided he had had enough. Instead of going along with the price change, he canceled the partnership Rave’s brands, Pizza Inn and Pie Five, had with the third-party delivery provider.
“Uber didn't enter into good faith negotiations with us,” Solano said. “They came at us with demands, ‘you're going to pay this amount. This is a global increase. And no, we're not negotiating.’ I just don't do business like that.”
In early March, Uber Eats increased marketplace fees across most of its pricing tiers to help pay for rising operating costs. Rates for its Lite tier rose from 15% to 20% per order. Pickup order rates across all tiers rose from 6% to 7%, alongside other fee hikes. The fees go toward fulfilling orders with couriers, bringing in new customers, discounting deliveries for Uber One members and covering transaction costs for payment processing and insurance.
Uber said partner restaurants were informed of the change at least 30 days in advance, and are able to switch pricing plans or exit the platform.
“We’re updating marketplace fees for certain U.S. restaurants on Uber Eats for the first time in about a decade,” an Uber spokesperson wrote in an email. “This change reflects higher costs to operate a reliable delivery marketplace and helps ensure we can continue supporting restaurants, couriers, and customers. Restaurants are being notified in advance, and we will continue to follow all local regulatory requirements.”
Solano said the price increase was poorly timed, given the current economic conditions many operators face which have led to bankruptcies, tight margins and rising costs.
“I think it's a really bad time for Uber to be trying to raise their rates with all the restaurant closings going on,” Solano said.
By ending his company’s relationship with Uber Eats, he said he “successfully negotiated the rates down to zero.” This move prevented Rave from having to raise menu prices across its brands, which would ultimately have impacted customer behavior.
“I think our franchisees and our customers deserve better than demands from a player that’s in second place [in marketshare],” he said.
At the new rates, Solano claimed that restaurant operators would be left with little or no profit from Uber Eats delivery transactions. It didn’t make sense to pay up to 30% per transaction — more than what vendors and farmers who provide ingredients receive. He added that franchisees were also supportive of this move.
“Do we really think technology is more valuable than food? I just don't think so,” he said. Solano acknowledged there may be some decrease in transactions.
“We're going to lose some volume as a result of this. But at the end of the day, it's volume that we make almost no money on,” he said.
While Solano said he is negotiating an exclusive deal with DoorDash, that isn’t finalized. There are other channels for Pie Five and Pizza Inn to focus on beyond third-party delivery, as well — particularly dine-in.
Rave Restaurant Group already turns a profit, posting its 23rd consecutive quarter of profitability in February, according to an earnings release. Pizza Inn reported comparable store sales rose 2.5% while Pie Five comparable sales fell 1.5% for fiscal Q2 2026.
In other order channels, Rave is “working hard to find every dollar, typically much higher margin sales than we're experiencing on third-party [delivery],” he said, adding that Pizza Inn is working on food quality service and value to win customers back.
Pizza Inn is growing its dine-in traffic, largely with its value offers, such as its All You Can $8 deal, a dine-in buffet of pizza, pasta, salads and desserts priced at $8 Monday through Friday. Direct ordering through its website is also up significantly, Solano said.
“We have to make sure that those experiences are fantastic,” he said. “But you want to talk about a convenient dine-in experience? How about you walk in, grab a plate and you start eating. This is what's available at the Pizza Inn buffet.”
Why third-parties should be cautious about raising prices
There are also many other ordering channels that make restaurants convenient, like drive-thrus, that don’t add a lot of extra costs to the restaurant or consumers, he added.
“If delivery becomes prohibitive, they're going to push folks to other options, some of which may be cooking at home or more convenient, frozen meals,” Solano said. “And I don't think that's where we want to go.”
Third-party delivery providers should be cautious about raising prices too quickly, Solano said. With Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and local third-party players, there is a lot of competition between third-party delivery businesses, he said.
“These guys are competing with one another, and they should be competing for our business,” Solano said. As these businesses become more saturated and have more restaurant business, they should be negotiating more with restaurants instead of making uniform pricing decisions, he added, since operators can shift from one aggregator to another.
“Uber Eats, in particular, is damaging relationships with the restaurant community that they're going to want back later,” he said.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a statement from Uber Eats.
