ASAP (food delivery)
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: ASAP | |
| Industry | Online food ordering Online grocery delivery |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Christopher Meaux (chairman) |
| Defunct | Template:End date and age |
| Fate | Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation |
| Headquarters | Lafayette, Louisiana |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Carl Grimstad (CEO) |
| Owner | Fertitta Entertainment (majority) |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | asap |
ASAP Inc., branded as Asap, was a US-based company specializing in online food and grocery delivery services. Initially established under the name Waitr, Inc. in Lake Charles, Louisiana by entrepreneur Christopher Meaux with backing from McNeese State University, its headquarters were located in Lafayette, Louisiana.
History
The origins of Waitr trace back to a project initiated at McNeese State University by founder Christopher Meaux. The business rapidly grew across Louisiana and expanded into other southern states. In 2015, Cory Griffin, formerly an executive at Griff’s Hamburger, joined the team as Chief Operating Officer.
In 2018, Tilman Fertitta's Lancadia holdings, operating under the Fertitta Entertainment umbrella, acquired Waitr through a $308 million reverse takeover. The company then doubled its size in 2019 by purchasing Minneapolis-based Bite Squad for $321 million; Bite Squad’s founder Kian Salehi remained with the firm for a short period following the acquisition.
That same year, Waitr transitioned to employing only contract drivers, resulting in the termination of approximately 2,300 full-time drivers. Despite broadening its market presence through acquisitions, the firm maintained a modest 3% share of the US online food delivery industry.
To steer the company through recovery after reporting a net loss of $291 million in 2019, Carl Grimstad was named CEO in 2020. His efforts concentrated on positioning Waitr distinctly from competitors such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
In 2021, Waitr pursued strategic acquisitions including Florida-based Delivery Dudes for $23 million alongside three cannabis-oriented payment processors: ProMerchant, Flow Payments, and Cape Cod Merchant Services. An attempted $90 million purchase of Retail Innovation Labs Inc., creators of Cova POS systems tailored for cannabis dispensaries, was ultimately not finalized.
The company announced a rebranding to ASAP in January 2022, signaling a strategic pivot toward non-restaurant deliveries with an emphasis on cannabis distribution across the US and Canada. This rebranding followed a $4.7 million settlement related to trademark infringement with Waiter.com.
Operations ceased on March 30, 2024; subsequently, ASAP’s parent entity filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation on April 2, 2024.