1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
“Bikes were freedom,” Tim Kiefer said in a recent interview as he reminisced about why he first fell in love with cycling. What was freedom to a 7-year-old Kiefer may differ now, twenty years later, but he’s found a way to combine his love of biking and food: in February, he launched The Food Pedaler, a bike delivery company servicing the Central West End and SLU neighborhoods.
Working with several restaurants, like Sub Zero Vodka Bar, The Cup, Café Osage, The Majestic, Rasoi, Nadoz Café, and PuraVegan Café, Kiefer and his “pedalers” (left) or riders “deliver delight, by bike.”
The day we sat down with Kiefer he had just returned from Griesedieck Hall at SLU, where he dropped off cupcakes from The Cup. Unlike car delivery drivers, Kiefer can pedal right through SLU’s campus and pull up to the dorm’s front door (car deliveries have to travel by roads, which are particularly congested around the university, and double-park at the back of the building).
The Food Pedaler website lists the participating restaurants’ full menus, and all orders can be placed online. Customers can order up to a month in advance, can add names to items to keep everyone’s food straight, and can set up a corporate account with monthly billing all with the click of a mouse. The pedalers deliver 7 days a week from 10 AM to 10 PM.
The delivery fee is $3.99, whether it’s just you or your whole office. Insulated bags keep food hot or cold, and large orders, like those delivered to the Barnes medical complex, are stored in bike racks or pulled in trailers. The largest order Kiefer has delivered was to thirty people. He not only delivered the food but went into the office and set everything up—something car delivery drivers don’t do.
Kiefer described the difference between lunch and dinner as “fast nickels and slow quarters”: lunch is a slow quarter (bigger orders that take more time), while dinner is a fast nickel (smaller orders that can be quickly delivered). Ultimately, he’d like to extend night-time delivery hours, especially when SLU students study for their exams and may need sustenance to bolster their cramming sessions.
Thanks to delivery software, Kiefer can assign orders to different pedalers after they come in; orders are then confirmed and placed with restaurants, and customers receive updates through email on the delivery’s ETA. The whole process is accessible through a laptop or smart phone and payment is collected with a Square reader—reminders of how contemporary businesses rely on technological advances. Technological advances and Twitter.
Like so many entrepreneurs, Kiefer promotes his company (logo at right) on Twitter (look for videos in the near future), and has even been contacted by restaurant owners interested in working with him through the social media platform. Kiefer called Jack Dorsey, Twitter and Square founder, a hero: “He’s breaking down barriers for commerce and communication.”
With a background that includes farming in California, working as a barista with knowledge in coffee roasting, and as a buyer at Whole Foods, Kiefer spoke of his love of how food systems intersect. One particular connection he noted was among cyclists, coffee, and beer. When listening to Kiefer express his love for the city, another intersection becomes evident: that between food and St. Louis. He cited in particular the “brilliant” Luke and Derek Gamlin, owners of Sub Zero and the recently opened Gamlin Whiskey House and his first restaurant owners to sign on with him.
Time spent with Kiefer, who paused during the interview at The Cup to groove to KC & The Sunshine Band’s “I’m Your Boogie Man,” revealed a purpose greater than food delivery. His statement, for example—“we are an expression of and catalyst for the best things in St. Louis”—might seem like a slogan, but then he told a story about how a pedaler out on a delivery helped a stranded motorist who needed gas. And, all of the pedalers just happen to be first responders. “We do good deeds,” Kiefer said as he explained that he’d like to become involved in neighborhood watches as “another eye on the street.”
Kiefer envisions his company growing in a number of future directions, guided by his pedalers and their ideas. One probable direction is add-on deliveries—going to a grocery store or drugstore and picking up whatever the customer wants. Bottle of wine? Yes, please. Another direction would be same-day retail delivery. Yoga pants from Lululemon? Don’t mind if I do (as long as they’re not these). For now, though, the goal is to continue to partner with talented restaurant owners in the delivery zone as Kiefer considers expanding into other neighborhoods. His current motto remains: “bike a lot and eat awesome food.”
thefoodpedaler.com, The Food Pedaler on Facebook, and @foodpedaler on Twitter
