Modern Organic Mexican Logo
Modern Organic Mexican Logo
By Ed Avis
Customers trying to make reservations at Modern Organic Mexican are always disappointed. In fact, even trying to find the restaurant can be impossible. The truth is, this new restaurant, launched by the Madera Group in Los Angeles in November, is not actually a restaurant – it’s a delivery-only business, designed to tap into the growing hunger of customers to order out.
The idea of launching a delivery-only restaurant is not new, and in fact there are other Mexican cuisine delivery-only businesses. But Modern Organic Mexican, also known as MOM, appears to be the first such concept launched by an existing bricks-and-mortar Mexican restaurant. Madera Group owns two Mexican restaurants, Toca Madera and Tocaya Organica, which combined have six locations in Southern California and Florida.
“We've seen proven success with delivery from Toca Madera and Tocaya Organica, as delivery represents 40 percent of our overall business,” says Tosh Berman, CEO of the Madera Group. “We wanted to create a concept that fulfilled a different aspect of the market that we aren't currently providing, which is a focus on the comfort dishes of traditional homestyle Mexican cuisine.”
Berman says Modern Organic Mexican has its own, designated kitchen, but the staff are regular employees of the restaurants.
The menu includes classic Mexican items such as tacos, burritos, empanadas and salads, made with locally sourced organic ingredients. Since every meal is destined for the delivery vehicle, the menu skips any item that can’t handle the trip.
“We created dishes that we know carry well,” Berman says. “For example, we use corn tortillas instead of flour, as we’ve found that the cheese carries better using that type when it comes to delivery.”
The concept operates from 5 p.m. until midnight, and relies on Postmates and UberEATS to make the deliveries.
“It’s no secret, technology is driving the way we all live and increasingly, the way we eat,” Berman says. “Delivery services like Postmates and UberEATS have already proven to be hugely successful for our Tocaya Organica and Toca Madera concepts, and this is one of the major reasons we wanted to create MOM.”
Berman says he’s not afraid that Modern Organic Mexican will eat into existing delivery sales from Toca Madera or Tocaya Organica. The menus are all somewhat different – Modern Organic Mexican is comfort food, Toca Madera is higher end, and Tocaya Organica is fast casual – and Modern Organic Mexican prices fall between the other two.
The company is using the information accumulated during Modern Organic Mexican deliveries to see if the customer base is different from the regular locations. “We wanted to use this model to develop data and see if whether or not non–brick-and-mortar locations for our venues could service areas that don't potentially fit our current demographic model,” Berman says.
Is your restaurant doing something interesting that you’d like to share with other el Restaurante readers? Please email Publisher Ed Avis, edavis@restmex.com