News

March 20, 2009

Economy Meets Ecology in Chicago Group's New Pizza-Delivery Method

Linda and Dan Bacin weren’t looking for a green remedy to their Chicago restaurants’ escalating delivery costs, but one rolled into view when a friend and former employee bought a pair of Segways for his family to zip around town.

Today the Bacins’ four-store Bella Bacino’s is delivering pizza and shuttling employees between restaurants on four of the “personal transportation devices,” which resemble old-fashioned push mowers with footholds for a single passenger to ride astride. The devices run on batteries that can be recharged via a standard electrical outlet. The charge lasts for about 12 hours, according to Brad Johnson, the former COO who introduced the Bacins to the device.

“It was purely an economical decision in terms of trying to get away from cars and the high price of gas,” Johnson recalls. “But obviously there’s no internal-combustion engine, just two batteries. It’s a very green way to go.”

The devices can be as economical as they are ecological. Segway estimates that a machine costs about one-sixth as much to operate as a car, or about a penny per mile.

Johnson also cites the benefit of being able to park the device anywhere, including on sidewalks, and to dash down streets, albeit at 11 miles per hour, when cars are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic (Chicago allows Segways to run both on streets and on sidewalks).

And, Johnson notes, the devices function as two-wheeled billboards for Bella Bacino’s, which operates two Italian restaurants under that name and two as Bacino’s. He outfitted the company’s Segways with specially made boxes to carry pizzas and other elements of delivery orders. The machines were further customized with Bella Bacino’s brand name and color scheme.

“These things just grab attention,” said Johnson, who has since started a business to market the handlebar cargo boxes to other commercial Segway users (manufacturer Segway Inc. also sells a line of cargo components).

“The Segway PT [personal transport] is an attention magnet,” says Eric Fleming, director of creative services for Segway. “This is something we first recognized with police officers who use our product. People come up to them more when they’re on the Segway PT.”

Turning heads with a device that’s both unusual and green is an important benefit to Bella Bacino’s, which has traditionally used the hottest new car as a marketing device. Its earlier delivery and staff vehicles have included the first-year production models of the Mini Cooper, the PT Cruiser, the Audi TT roadster and the Volkswagen New Beetle, all adorned with the company’s trademarks.

The company is still using a Mini Cooper, but plans to phase it out for the greener Segways, according to Johnson and Linda Bacin. Bella Bacino’s found that a new Segway costs about $5,200, and a used model can be purchased for around $2,000. Segway estimates the cost of its PT at roughly a third of an auto’s sticker price. Bella Bacino’s can park its two-wheelers in a basement or office. They weigh about 120 to 150 pounds each.

The devices aren’t a perfect solution, however. Chicago has been socked this winter with snow and teeth-rattling cold, which can turn a Segway jaunt into an arctic adventure.

Yet, despite the drawbacks, the restaurant company has fielded enough queries from locals interested in the machines to start a sideline business -- in essence an education-and-training program for other restaurateurs who want to use the Segways for pizza delivery.

Nationwide, a number of restaurants with delivery service have already jumped aboard, according to Segway’s Fleming. He cites examples as far flung as Fuel, a café in Washington, DC, and Nonnie’s Italian Eatery, a multiunit operation in Concord, N.H. The proprietor of Digest in Scottsdale, Ariz.., uses one to get to and from the restaurant, and to make wine runs.

“More and more small business owners -- especially in urban environments -- will see that the Segway PT is often much more convenient and cost effective for the trips that people need to take throughout their day,” says Fleming.