Area Development
Waitr, an on-demand food delivery service and online restaurant technology platform, opened its operations center in Lafayette, Louisiana. The company is expanding support of online and mobile software solutions for the restaurant industry.

In June 2016, Waitr announced plans for the technology center and opened its initial Lafayette site at the Opportunity Machine, a center for entrepreneurial growth supported by LEDA, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, and other partners in the Acadiana Region.

“Louisiana is best-known around the world for its energy and tourism sectors, which we are immensely proud of,” Governor John Bel Edwards said. “But Louisiana increasingly is becoming known as a technology capital. We have attracted many of the leading technology employers of the world to our state in an effort to diversify our economy. What makes Waitr so special is that this is a homegrown success story that marries something we are best known for, our food and dining experience, with technology solutions that we are becoming better known for. Waitr is adding meaningful value to our economy and our future.”

“Much of our success is due to our talented and extremely hard-working staff including those, right here in Lafayette, at our new facility,” Waitr CEO & Founder Chris Meaux said. “We’re honored to share the celebration with them, along with our partners at the Opportunity Machine. Waitr is committed to providing the best service to our customers, as well as increasing business for our restaurant partners. We’re thrilled with the results so far and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

To secure the Waitr expansion project, the State of Louisiana offered the company the comprehensive workforce solutions of LED FastStart, the state workforce training program. Waitr also has utilized the state’s Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive and the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program. To encourage Waitr’s growth, LED provided managerial and technical training and facilitated peer-to-peer discussions on best practices through the state’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program. LED’s Economic Gardening Initiative pointed Waitr on the path to new business markets through intensive data research.