166%
increase in DoorDash Online Ordering and Mobile App sales (Q1'25 vs. Q1'24)
25%
increase in DoorDash Marketplace sales (Q1'25 vs. Q1'24)
6X
return on ad spend (ROAS) for DoorDash Promotions
A classic NYC bagel shop with big ambitions
Known for their traditional water bagels, H&H Bagels has been a New York City staple since it first opened in 1972. Nearly 50 years later, Ryan Klepper joined H&H's team as Director of Operations, with a goal of not only preserving the brand's legacy but also bringing their authentic New York City bagels to a national audience.
Inspired by brands like Chipotle and Sweetgreen, Klepper sought to make H&H's kettle-boiled bagels accessible to customers far beyond the Big Apple.
"Chipotle made their menu part of American culture — we want to do that for the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich."
To transition H&H from a local favorite to a national chain, the team first focused on opening locations in Moynihan Train Hall and the LaGuardia and JFK airports. With these locations in New York City's travel hubs, H&H is one of the last places people see when they leave the city and one of the first to greet them when they come back — establishing the brand as a New York favorite with locals and tourists alike.
H&H also opened an 1,800-square-foot location on the Upper West Side as proof of concept to scale their nationwide franchise model. With 13 franchisees set to open 90 locations in the near future, it's clear that the team's vision to expand from coast to coast is quickly coming to fruition.
Everything bagels, everywhere, all at once
In 2020, H&H was using just one smaller provider to collect third-party delivery orders, and using their own drivers to make deliveries. When Klepper joined that same year, he saw a big opportunity to scale H&H's brand by optimizing their delivery strategy.
To do that, Klepper chose to partner with DoorDash, signing up H&H's Upper West Side and Upper East Side locations for DoorDash Marketplace to offer delivery and pickup. As H&H opened additional New York City locations, he continued to sign the new restaurants up for DoorDash. Fast forward five years, and DoorDash now accounts for 65% of all of H&H's delivery sales, with 25%* year-over-year Marketplace growth.
"I can honestly say that without our relationship with DoorDash the transition to a nationwide franchise model wouldn't have been as smooth."
Building brand loyalty with DoorDash
In addition to Marketplace, the restaurant also leverages DoorDash Commerce Platform's first-party solutions, including Online Ordering and Mobile Apps to connect with H&H brand loyalists as well as DashPass to appeal to DoorDash devotees — boosting orders across the board.
With DoorDash Online Ordering, H&H can accept pickup and delivery orders directly through their own website, commission-free. And H&H was proudly one of the first restaurants to pilot DoorDash Mobile Apps, which allows merchants to create their own H&H-branded mobile app to accept commission-free online orders. Delivery orders through these channels are then fulfilled by Dashers.
Although DoorDash supplies the underlying technology for online orders through the restaurant's website and app, H&H owns the look and feel of the channels, ensuring they reflect the bagel shop's iconic brand. And H&H is able to offer their own loyalty program that rewards customers who order through their website, app, or in-store — creating a bespoke experience for their biggest fans.
"We've been able to retain so many more customers by giving them a more user-friendly experience with Online Ordering."
In addition to enabling an elevated ordering experience for customers, Klepper also sees H&H's mobile app as a major differentiator when attracting new franchisees. He believes that despite H&H's size by comparison to other chains, their mobile app creates a level of brand validity that has won many franchisees over. Best of all, H&H has seen 166%* year-over-year growth in DoorDash Online Ordering and Mobile App sales, proving its value as the business expands.
"DoorDash has allowed us to take a leap forward with our tech stack without having to assume the financial expenses of it."
On the DoorDash Marketplace side, to engage and win new customers who may not be familiar with their brand, H&H uses DashPass, DoorDash's customer membership program. DashPass incentivizes more frequent orders with member-only offers and items, free delivery fees, and lower service fees on eligible orders. On average, businesses see at least a 30% increase in take-home revenue after one year of offering DashPass.
"When you target DashPass customers, you see an incredible return on your investment."
Designing with DoorDash in mind
As H&H expands across the country, it's clear that partnering with DoorDash is key to the brand's growth. Because of this, Klepper and his team have begun designing new stores with separate service lines for delivery orders. This model ensures in-store customers don't have to wait for help while employees assemble delivery orders, streamlining delivery while maintaining a best-in-class in-store experience.
H&H has also outfitted new stores with dedicated pickup areas for delivery orders, allowing pickup customers and Dashers to skip the line and quickly grab completed orders.
In addition to optimizing the brand's physical locations for DoorDash, Klepper also streamlines operations by integrating his POS system with DoorDash. The integration creates a bridge for DoorDash to send and retrieve data from H&H's POS system, allowing their team to manage incoming orders and menu updates in one place. And the DoorDash Preferred Integrations Program, which tracks POS performance in real time, helps Klepper ensure he's using the right integration partner for his business.
"Instead of wasting time comparing different providers, I can now go straight to the ones DoorDash trusts and that I know will support our business."
Schmear today, grown tomorrow
From planned locations in Jacksonville to Chicago and Knoxville to West Palm Beach, Klepper and his team's goal of making H&H a nationwide brand is in sight — and DoorDash will be by their side as they continue to hit new milestones.
"DoorDash has the best account managers. They have the best engineers. They have the best drivers. They've got the best operating system, and they're constantly looking to improve on their processes that are already in a league of their own. Who wouldn't want to be part of that?"
*When comparing Q1'25 to Q1'24
