A fence has gone up around Rapscallion. Here's why

Johnathan L. Wright | Reno Gazette-Journal

Update: As of 4 p.m. Aug. 8, some of the restaurants referred to below have been removed from the Door Dash platform, presumably at their request.

Update: This story was updated at 10:41 a.m. Aug. 6 to include a portion of a statement received from Door Dash.

Some are already calling it the "Door Dash debacle."

Door Dash, the online restaurant delivery service, launched in Reno on Aug. 1.

Less than a week later, the company is taking a social media drubbing from some local restaurant owners angry their restaurants are listed on Door Dash's website and app — without their permission.

The restaurant owners also are concerned their establishments could be blamed for errors made by Door Dash or delivery delays — especially in those cases where the restaurant never agreed to be a Door Dash partner.

First post

The controversy emerged on launch day, Aug. 1, when Troy Donson, owner-operator of Sparks and Smoke BBQ Takeout, posted to the Reno Foodies closed Facebook group after finding his restaurant listed on Door Dash:

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"Just so everyone is completely clear, as the Owner/Operator of Sparks and Smoke BBQ Takeout, I can categorically state we do NOT and NEVER HAVE offered or participated in delivery services with ANYONE.

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"Just figured I would get the word out before we 'get in trouble' with people who may be thinking Door Dash has our permission or approval to offer delivery on our behalf."

Travel & Leisure magazine recently named Sparks and Smoke the No. 4 barbecue spot in the country. Reno Foodies has nearly 9,000 members.

Closed places

Johnathan L. Wright/RGJ

As of 9:40 p.m. Aug. 5, Door Dash listed more than 260 local food and drink establishments on its website, including restaurants like Creazian and Newman's Deli that are closed.

"That raised a few suspicions," said Brooke Lampert, chef-owner of the Divine Plate, a Reno caterer, who said she downloaded the Door Dash app "as a layperson."

Door Dash, through a representative, provided a statement to the Reno Gazette Journal that reads, in part:

"For the majority of our merchants, being on DoorDash offers not only an additional influx of customers and revenue but also presents an additional marketing opportunity.

"For those not interested in being on DoorDash for any reason, we immediately remove them from the platform upon their request."

Pizza blues

Mike Sion/Special to the RGJ

Following Donson's initial post, other posts about Door Dash were made on Reno Foodies and on the Facebook pages of area restaurants. The posts drew hundreds of comments, many of them hauling out the pitchforks and torches.

"Please do not use this service! It really couldn't be any more underhanded, disgusting or immoral," reads one characteristic brandishing on Reno Foodies.

Other restaurant owners joined Donson in expressing dismay at being listed as a Door Dash delivery partner.

"NOBLE PIE IS NOT PART OF DOOR DASH! They have hijacked our online menu to make a part of their program that we have never agreed to be part of," Ryan Goldhammer, co-owner of the pizzerias, posted to Reno Foodies.

"Do not use the renegade program or site!"

'Demand test'

Johnathan L. Wright/RGJ

Colin Richards, owner of the Scoopers restaurants in Reno and Sparks, posted to the Scoopers Drive-In Facebook page that "Scoopers is in no way, shape or form, affiliated with DoorDash delivery service. They have never asked, nor received our permission to put our menu (an incorrect one at that) on their site."

A representative for Campo Reno shared with @RGJTaste a July 30 email from the DoorDash Merchant Team stating that "We are planning to set up a demand test for Campo: we'll call in to-go orders like a normal customer and have one of our drivers pick up the food when it's ready.

"If you would like to turn away these sales or would prefer not to be featured on our site, please let us know by replying to this email."

The rep said Campo declined to participate. As of 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5, Campo is still listed on the Door Dash site.

Getting removed

Late in the afternoon of Aug. 5, Walter Gloshinski, co-owner of the much-praised Smiling with Hope Pizza, described an experience with Door Dash from the day before in an email to @RGJTaste.

"We got a guy in last night with a pizza warming bag picking up an order. He said he delivered for Door Dash. We never talked to or agreed to be a part of their company and don't want anything to do with it."

Later that evening, Gloshinski shared an email from Door Dash indicating the company had complied with his request to be removed from the site, something confirmed by a search of the site.

'We just deliver'

Andy Barron/RGJ

BJ's Nevada Barbecue Company in Sparks also appears to have been removed from the Door Dash platform.

An Aug. 5 post by Patty Perez to Reno Foodies crystallizes restaurant concerns about Door Dash and could have contributed to BJ's removal from the platform, as confirmed by a check during the evening of Aug. 5.

Perez describes an Aug. 4 experience in which an order from BJ's placed through Door Dash had items missing. Perez called the restaurant. After extended back-and-forth with a manager, it emerged the restaurant did not know about its inclusion on the platform.

Perez posted that the manager apologized for the situation and offered her a gift certificate. After the post, a Reno Foodies member inquired if Perez had contacted Door Dash.

"I did," she replied. "Their response was, we just deliver. You need to call the restaurant about the missing food."

Trademark issues

Johnathan L. Wright/RGJ

Door Dash isn't just risking the ire of customers and restaurant owners in Northern Nevada. Its use of businesses' logos on the platform could create legal issues.

"If you take layouts, artwork, logos and try to post that information, you start running into problems," said Mark Simons, principal of Simons Law, a Reno law firm specializing in commercial litigation and business strategy.

"You have to have permission to do that from the holder of the trademark or copyright. It's the use of imagery, the logos, without permission that is problematic."

Trademark rights can derive from common law use or from federal trademark registrations.

Door Dash has faced allegations of trademark infringement before. In early January 2018, for instance, a suburban Chicago restaurant filed suit alleging, among other things, the company had improperly used its logo.

And in 2015, In-N-Out Burger sued Door Dash for trademark infringement and unfair competition, a suit later confidentially settled. Door Dash no longer lists the burger chain.

Different prices

Another concern raised on local social media is that menu prices on Door Dash might not match the prices at restaurants.

In fact, the Door Dash Terms and Conditions Agreement provides, in pertinent part, that users of the platform "understand" that prices listed by Door Dash "may differ from the prices offered or published by Food Service Providers for the same menu items and/or from prices available at other third-party websites."

Even with the controversy, some locals have praised Door Dash.

"Doordash is a miracle!," Carley Bloomer commented on the @RGJTaste Facebook page. "Nowhere delivers to where I work, and there aren't many restaurants close enough to run and pick up food from."

This story will be updated as new information is received.

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