Dulan’s on Crenshaw is a soul food restaurant in South Los Angeles whose neighborhood is changing fast, with roughly 900 apartment units under construction within half a mile. It needed to reach new residents and tell everyone it had reopened after a long renovation. According to DoorDash, Marketplace sales rose 25% and 64% of its DoorDash orders came from new customers in January and February 2025.

The playbook

  1. Go where newcomers search. At the end of 2024, Dulan’s joined DoorDash as an exclusive partner, its first third-party platform, filling a gap for soul food in the area. Delivery and pickup also serve seniors and others who can’t come in, and the restaurant was approved to accept EBT on DoorDash.
  2. Keep every channel in sync. The general manager edits the DoorDash menu in real time for specials, modifiers and prices, and uses the POS integration to update item descriptions and hours across all ordering channels, cutting down on mistakes.
  3. Aim promotions at slow shifts. A 20% off promotion targets slower evening periods rather than discounting the busiest hours. The team also plans occasion-based promotions such as Mother’s Day.
  4. Amplify with Sponsored Listings. Paid placement raises the store’s visibility in search and draws attention to its running promotions, putting Dulan’s at the top when nearby residents browse for dinner.
  5. Capture direct orders commission-free. DoorDash Online Ordering runs on the restaurant’s own website, customized with its logo, colors and fonts, turning daily site visitors into delivery and pickup orders.

Results

All figures according to DoorDash, January–February 2025 where dated:

  • Marketplace sales up 25%; 64% of DoorDash orders from new customers.
  • Promotions brought in 1,449 new customers and nearly $14,000 in sales at an average 5.8X ROAS; the evening promotion lifted evening sales 25%, per the GM.
  • Sponsored Listings generated $13,764 in sales at a 10X ROAS.
  • Online Ordering sales up 30%, with an average order of $48.29, about $8 higher than on Marketplace.
  • 63% of DoorDash sales came from DashPass customers.

How to apply it

  • Point discounts at your weakest dayparts so they add covers instead of subsidizing orders you would get anyway.
  • Run ads and promotions together, and track return on ad spend for each campaign.
  • Pair marketplace reach with a branded direct-ordering page so repeat guests have a commission-free way to order.
  • Use one system of record for menus, prices and hours to avoid channel mismatches.

Source: DoorDash for Merchants success story. This Operator Story is partner content from DoorDash, a Whatnow Partner.