Carry out and delivery becomes easier than ever

A CarGo carryout vehicle in front of the Marquette Tower at the intersection of Broadway and North Fountain Street.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

In 2017, not only have new local restaurants like Gabriel’s Food + Wine and The Southerner opened up shop, but food mobility services and twists on old favorites are helping your dining experiences seamlessly sync with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

This new year, whether you’re looking to kick things off with a fresh, healthy start, or you’re reluctant to leave the house and face the harsh winter weather, it has never been easier to find convenient, affordable, and healthy food in Cape Girardeau thanks to these inventive companies.

CarGO Carryout

For time-crunched parents, employees spending late nights tied up at the office, or couch potatoes who want to visit their favorite dining spot but aren’t ready to brave the cold, CarGO Carryout is a gamechanger.

CarGO Carryout is an extension of CarGO, Southeast Missouri’s ride-sharing transportation network. Initially focusing its business model solely on transportation services, this year CarGO expanded with the launch of CarGO Carryout, a service that brings dozens of Cape Girardeau’s most popular dining experiences out of the restaurant and into the location of your choosing.

With the simple tap of the CarGO app, hungry customers can browse a list of dining options available for delivery in the area. The app breaks out restaurant prospects alphabetically, by rating and by price, so users can immediately identify a well-reviewed place within their budget. Participating restaurants, most of which do not traditionally deliver, range from classic chains like McDonald’s and Buffalo Wild Wings to local eateries including Saffron and Port Cape. If you have a large and hungry group of friends who also want to order, don’t despair; invite them to pay separately on the app, and CarGO Carryout will evenly split the delivery charge.

On-Demand Groceries from Schnucks

For those of you who would like to apply the convenience of CarGO Carryout to your grocery routine, look no further than Schnucks.

Grocery delivery now offered at Schnucks in Cape Girardeau.

File photo.

Schnucks partnered with food delivery service Instacart in July 2017 to create their new program Schnucks Delivers. Schnucks Delivers brings on-demand groceries to doorsteps in cities across the Midwest, including Cape Girardeau.

To complete your grocery shopping for the week, simply visit schnucksdelivers.com. Once you have created an account, you are free to browse crowd-free aisles at your leisure. Hand pick any fresh ingredient you need and place it in your online cart. Then, simply schedule a delivery for a day and time that best suits your schedule, and you can get all the groceries you need brought to your door in as little as an hour.

Schnucks Delivers also makes a thoughtful gift, especially if there’s a harried parent in your life who dreads bringing their little ones on every shopping trip, or if you have elderly relatives whose physical limitations prevent them from being able to shop as frequently as they would prefer.

By eliminating the checkout lines, the hectic parking lots, and the struggle of carving out some time in your day to make it to the store, Schnucks Delivers makes carefree trips to the grocery store your new (virtual) reality.

Aldi Renovation and Rebranding

Aldi, a national grocery store chain and local staple, has long been known for its affordable prices. Now, as part of a rebranding campaign, it also wants to be known for its focus on providing fresh foods.

The Cape Girardeau store, located at 2145 Independence St., closed for a month before reopening in November with a new look. The store revamped its interior in pursuit of a more modern, open concept. This included a new, wider layout to allow patrons more breathing room and easier access to products. It also featured the addition of a new register, and, perhaps most significant, a brand-new expanded produce section.

Filled with a plethora of affordable fresh fruit and vegetables, Aldi’s produce section has conquered the age-old enigma of finding food that is healthy for you and your wallet. The updated section magnifies this idea, expanding to include a new produce-specific refrigerated area. According to store manager Tyson Rayburn, this means that produce will stay fresher longer, which “allows us to keep more product in hand since we don’t have to worry about spoilage as much as before the remodel.”

People shop at Aldi's Cape Girardeau location at 2145 Independence street Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 during a reopening after a renovation to the store allowing wider aisles, open ceilings and better lighting. A grand opening will be Friday, November 17.

Andrew J. Whitaker ~ Southeast Missourian

In addition, all Aldi-exclusive brand foods – more than 90 percent of the store’s products – are now free of certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils, and added MSG. Healthier checkout lanes, too, have switched out the temptation of the impulse candy bar purchases in favor of dried fruit, single-serve nuts, and trail mixes.

If you’ve hunkered down in your home for the winter and are tempted to stay there until the groundhog sees its shadow, or if you’re craving healthy meals after a holiday onslaught of food coma-inducing mashed potato mountains and mac n’ cheese, these new dining experiences in Cape Girardeau might be worth a try. After all, there’s no better time than the start of a new year to branch out and discover all of the amenities the city has to offer.