Editing Take-out (section)

==Business operation==
[[File:Fish and chip shop, Cromer - geograph.org.uk - 2579721.jpg|thumb|Customers queueing for takeaway at a [[fish and chip shop]] in England]]
Take-out food can be purchased from restaurants that also provide sit-down [[Foodservice#Table service|table service]] or from establishments specialising in food to be taken away.<ref name="Mason">{{cite book|title=Food Culture in Great Britain|last=Mason|first=Laura|pages=170|year=2004|location=CT, USA|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313327988}}</ref> Providing a take-out service saves operators the cost of cutlery, crockery and pay for servers and hosts; it also allows many customers to be served quickly, without restricting sales by remaining to eat their food.<ref>{{cite book|title=FCS Hospitality Services L3|pages=203|last1=Gough|last2=Gough|first1=B|first2=J|isbn=9781770251373|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education South Africa|location=Cape Town, South Africa}}</ref>

===Street food===
[[File:Thai market food 01.jpg|thumb|A market stall in [[Thailand]] selling take-out food]]
Although once popular in Europe and America,<ref name="Harris"/> [[street food]] declined in popularity in the 20th century. In part, this can be attributed to a combination of the proliferation of specialized takeaway restaurants and legislation relating to health and safety.<ref name="Harris"/> Vendors selling street food are still common in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East,<ref>{{cite book|title=Food Culture in the Near East, Middle East, and North Africa|pages=119|last=Heine|first=Peter|location=CT, USA|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313329562|year=2004}}</ref> with the annual turnover of street food vendors in Bangladesh and Thailand being described as particularly important to the local economy.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Urban Informal Sector in Asia: An Annotated Bibliography|editor-last=Sethuraman|editor-first=S. V.|pages=192|publisher=[[International Labour Organization]]|year=1992|location=Geneva, Switzerland|isbn=9789221082590}}</ref>

===Drive-through===
In the United States, many restaurants and take-out establishments offer [[drive-through]] or ''drive-thru''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/drive-through?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Drive-through or drive-thru|publisher=Collins Dictionary|date=n.d.|access-date=September 30, 2014}}</ref> outlets that allow customers to order, pay for, and receive food without leaving their cars. The idea was pioneered in 1931 in a California [[fast food]] restaurant, ''Pig Stand Number 21''. By 1988, 51% of [[McDonald's]] turnover was being generated by [[drive-through]]s, with 31% of all US take-out turnover being generated by them by 1990.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age|last1=Sculle|last2=Jakle|first1=Keith|first2=John|pages=61|isbn=9780801869204|year=2002|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Maryland, USA}}</ref>

=== Food delivery ===
[[File:Deliveroo driver on a motorbike in Manchester.jpg|thumb|right|[[Deliveroo]] driver in [[Manchester]], UK]]
Some take-out businesses offer prepared food for delivery, which usually involves contacting a local restaurant by telephone or online. In countries including Australia, Canada, India, Brazil, Japan, much of the European Union and the United States, food can be ordered online from a menu, then picked up by the customer or delivered by the restaurant or a third party delivery service.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kretzmann |first=David |url=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/12/10/why-dominos-digital-component-is-important/?source=edddlftxt0860001 |title=Why Domino's Digital Component Is Important |publisher=DailyFinance |access-date=28 December 2013}}</ref> The industry has kept pace with technological developments since the 1980s, beginning with the rise of the personal computer and continuing with the rise of mobile devices and [[Online food ordering|online delivery applications]]. Specialized computer software for food delivery helps determine the most efficient routes for carriers, track order and delivery times, manage calls and orders with [[Point of Sale|PoS]] software, and other functions. Since 2008 [[satellite navigation]] tracking technology has been used for real-time monitoring of delivery vehicles by customers over the Internet.<ref>Marianne Kolbasuk McGee. [http://www.informationweek.com/news/206102079 "GPS Comes To High-Tech Pizza-Delivery Tracking"] ''InformationWeek'' 1 February 2008</ref>

[[File:Pizza delivery moped HongKong.jpg|thumb|A branded [[Scooter (motorcycle)|scooter]] used for [[Pizza Hut]] pizza delivery in [[Hong Kong]].]]
A restaurant can either maintain its own delivery personnel or use third parties who contract with restaurants to not only deliver food orders but also assist in marketing and providing order-taking technology. The field has seen rapid growth since the late 2000s with the spread of the smart phones and apps enabling customers to order from their mobile devices.<ref name="Haddon & Jargon, WSJ 3/9/2019">{{cite news |last1=Haddon |first1=Heather |last2=Jargon |first2=Julie |title=The Delivery Wars: Your Food Is Almost Here |journal=WSJ|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/consumers-love-food-delivery-restaurants-and-grocers-hate-it-11552107610 |access-date=1 June 2019 |publisher=Dow Jones & Company |date=9 March 2019 |pages=B1}}</ref> In 2024 it was reported, that food delivery companies in the United States and Europe had amassed more than $20bn in combined operating losses. The [[Share (finance)|shares]] of [[Deliveroo]], [[Just Eat Takeaway]], [[Delivery Hero]], and [[DoorDash]] were therefore trading below the value that was delivered during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="FT Opinion Lex">{{cite news |publisher=Financial Times Opinion Lex Team |title=Food delivery apps rack up $20bn in losses in fierce battle for diners |author1=Camilla Hodgson |author2=Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu |url=https://www.ft.com/content/675f5c8b-6029-4393-8eba-d6f00327e090 |date=19 May 2024}}</ref>

Some businesses offer a guarantee to deliver within a predetermined period of time, with late deliveries not charged for.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.pizzapizza.ca/guarantee.htm|title= Pizza Pizza's Guarantee|format= Commercial website|publisher= pizzapizza.ca|access-date= 7 December 2007|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071224054617/http://www.pizzapizza.ca/guarantee.htm|archive-date= 24 December 2007}}</ref> For example, [[Domino's Pizza]] had a commercial campaign in the 1980s and early 1990s for its [[pizza delivery]] service which promised "30 minutes or it's free". This was discontinued in the United States in 1993 due to the number of lawsuits arising from accidents caused by hurried delivery drivers.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.gtla.org/public/news/dominos.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030113195338/http://www.gtla.org/public/news/dominos.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 13 January 2003|title= Jury award spurs Domino's to drop deadly policy|publisher= Georgia Trial Lawyers Association|access-date= 18 September 2007}}</ref>