University graduate student Lei Jin had two reliable options for grocery shopping: County Market and Walmart. However, both were a hassle in different ways.

“County is expensive but close,” Jin said. “Walmart is the other way around.”  

Traveling to and from Walmart could take up to two hours for Jin. He would have to take the 22 Illini bus to the Illini Union, and then connect to the 100 S Yellow bus, which would take him to the store.

However, Jin has found a way to help eliminate this time-consuming hassle for his fellow students. He officially launched KantWait, a start-up restaurant and grocery delivery company, on Aug. 26.   

Since its creation, the service has partnered with Far East Grocery, Dunkin Donuts, Dairy Queen and Golden Harbor, and also delivers from Walmart and McDonald’s. KantWait also plans to add fresh produce and meats to its selection within the next week. According to TJ Wukitsch, senior vice president of KantWait, the company also hopes to partner with Taco Bell and Sitara Indian Restaurant and Lounge.

Orders must be placed online through KantWait’s website. Prices are the same or similar to the restaurants’ or stores prices, with a small delivery fee added. All charges must be paid when placing the order, and for orders of more than $50 from their partner stores, there are no delivery charges.

According to Jin, what sets KantWait apart from other delivery companies is its route-delivery shuttle, which works like a bus for restaurant and grocery orders. When a customer orders from the KantWait website, order selections are limited to what is listed. Customers then choose one of five routes of varying times and services. Between these five routes, there are twenty-two KantWait points in high-density populations. The customers then meet the driver at the nearest KantWait point along the route they selected to pick up their orders. Recently, the service added two new evening routes. 

“It’s like you are letting your food take the bus instead of taking a taxi,” Jin said. “So it’s very efficient and cheap.”

Wukitsch drives the grocery route and said if he had to walk up to everyone’s door, each delivery would take him about five minutes per person. But with everyone coming to one spot along the route, it takes him 20 seconds or less to deliver each order.

“The reason we can charge people so little is because they do a little portion of the work for us, but it adds up to a lot,” Wukitsch said.

Neha Nigam, senior in LAS, said she has used the service twice because she does not have a car on campus.

“I think their prices are definitely better than if I had a car and had to drive to these places.” Nigam said.

Once, Nigam mixed up the time she was supposed to pick up her order. Although it is KantWait policy to continue on to the next delivery if someone does not show up, they made a point to store the order and deliver it at a time she would be there.

“I love that their customer service is really, really great. They make a point of, if anything ever goes wrong, making sure they reimburse you in some way,” Nigam said.

According to Wukitsch, this kind of customer service is a priority for KantWait.

“Everything is so impersonal now that there isn’t a whole lot of human aspect left … and even though we’re a website, we still want to have that,” Wukitsch said.

Karyna can be reached at [email protected]

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated there are no delivery charges for orders that are more than $50. This is only for KantWait’s partner stores. KantWait’s website, kantwait.com, was also incorrectly listed. The Daily Illini regrets this error.