Racine Meal Machine Now Delivering Food From Dozens of Restaurants

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There are a lot of times when you don’t feel like cooking, but also don’t feel like going to a restaurant.

You check the delivery menus -- and find pizza, pizza, pizza and pizza.

What’s a hungry resident of Caledonia to do? Now, you can call and have freshly cooked meals from dozens of Racine-area restaurants ranging from Jose’s Blue Sombrero to London Broil to River Run delivered right to your door.

Racine Meal Machine is basically a courier service for food; you call them directly at 262-417-3749 or email them your order, then they call the restaurant, order for you, pick it up, and deliver within the hour. Delivery charges range from $5 to $7 depending on your location, but that may change.

“Restaurants are now calling us wanting to get on our website, want to pay us directly so they can offer free delivery,” said co-owner Andrew Borth of Racine. “The reception was a complete 180 from what we were expecting.”

Their restaurant list includes not only Racine originals like Sticky Rice and Javier’s Cuisine, but also chain restaurants like Olive Garden, Panera, Qdoba and Subway. All the menus are right there on Racine Meal Machine’s website, so you don’t have to search around.

Borth and co-owner Galen Irish started the Racine Meal Machine to make life easier.

“We see this type of business all over the country --  Milwaukee, St. Louis, Minnesota -- but I never really put two and two together until I had kids.  Packing up three kids in a car to go out to eat is not an option as a single father,” Borth said.

Borth and Irish have never owned their own business, but they’re getting a lot of support from restaurants, friends and customers, and it's keeping Irish busy day and night.

“At first we were scared, thinking that restaurant owners would immediately dismiss us, or think we are stealing business,” Borth said. “After a month of running under the radar, word spread so fast it was impossible to stay hidden.”

They’re both enjoying the Racine Meal Machine.

“We talk to customers as if we have known them our whole lives, we joke around, give honest opinions on food,” Borth said. “We just want to provide the type of service that when we see our customers out -- they remember us.”