Landry’s Restaurants Expands Partnership with Waitr for Food Delivery in Wake of COVID-19 Closures; Offering Laid-Off Staff Jobs

Matthew Soberman

Rainforest Cafe® at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Landry’s Restaurants Expands Partnership with Waitr for Food Delivery in Wake of COVID-19 Closures; Offering Laid-Off Staff Jobs

Matthew Soberman

Rainforest Cafe® at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Landry’s Restaurants Expands Partnership with Waitr for Food Delivery in Wake of COVID-19 Closures; Offering Laid-Off Staff Jobs

Unemployed staff from Landry’s Restaurants may soon find new jobs, while the public will soon be able to enjoy many fan-favorite dishes, like the famed Rainforest Cafe Pastalaya, at home.

Rainforest Cafe® at Disney's Animal Kingdom

According to Yahoo! Finance, food delivery company Waitr has expanded its partnership with Landry’s to include carryout offerings “to all markets in which Landry’s operates,” as well as offering delivery in Texas and Florida.

Landry’s, which operates the Rainforest Cafe restaurants at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs, T-Rex Cafe at Disney Springs and Yak & Yeti Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, recently furloughed its employees due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, temporarily laying them off without pay. As a result of this new partnership, effective immediately, Waitr will be offering currently unemployed staff new jobs as delivery drivers.

Carl Grimstad, CEO of Waitr, said in a statement, “These are unprecedented and challenging times for the restaurant industry. Landry’s has been a longtime partner of Waitr and we are in a unique position to help their employees and community during this difficult period. Anything we can do to ensure the safety, health and well-being of our partners, employees and community, we will do.”

Landry’s, Inc. CEO Tilman Feritta added, “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unfortunate new reality to our industry and community that is causing us to face many challenges. We are extremely appreciative of Waitr for their valued partnership over the years and their kindness today to support our employees during this challenging time.”

Currently, all Landry’s restaurants within Walt Disney World remain closed due to the epidemic. At time of publication, the only restaurant currently listed as “Coming Soon” on the Waitr website is Joe’s Crab Shack, but we expect Rainforest Cafe to join the lineup of available restaurants soon.

Keep reading WDWNT for continuing updates on this ongoing story.