Urban restaurants and online food delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic: a spatial and socio-demographic analysis

In this research, we analyzed the delivery service areas of restaurants, customer satisfaction, and restaurant sales of urban restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. We obtained the datasets on food ordering options and restaurant rankings based on Google Maps, Open Street Map, and widely known online food order applications in Iran. Based on this analysis we further modeled suitable areas for future extension of restaurants. We analyzed the online food order data of restaurants' sales and food delivery reports for 1050 restaurants in the city of Tabriz. We collected and analyzed data on the restaurant locations, the number of food orders for each restaurant, and the number of customers and their locations. Our results revealed that the spatial dimension of the newly emerging food delivery areas is of utmost importance for the success of restaurants. This indicates that an optimal location is not longer only dependent on factors like population density and competitors in the direct vicinity but on the services density even from more distant competitors. The results indicate that an optimized spatial distribution of the restaurants together with efficient quality in services can contribute to optimistic urban development.