Ed Sweeney has started a new food-delivery service in Peterborough. STAFF PHOTO BY BEN CONANT—

When Ed Sweeney and his family had COVID a couple months ago, he decided Peterborough needed a food-delivery service.

The Sweeneys were out of food at their house, and Ed didn’t want to go to the grocery store and potentially spread the virus. But other than relying on friends and generous neighbors to drop off provisions, there weren’t other options to get food delivered in town.

Then at the beginning of May, Sweeney heard that DoorDash had made its way to Peterborough, and he knew it was the right time to start up his own delivery business.

“It’s not me versus them. It’s just this is better for this town,” Sweeney said. He’s worried that big-name food-delivery services could hurt the local restaurant industry in small towns. They charge restaurants to partner with them and then scale prices depending on time of day, traffic and how busy it is.

“I want small businesses to be successful,” Sweeney said, and he believes a local delivery service is the solution.

SweenEats Food Delivery Services has been up and running since mid-May. It’s an official LLC, fully insured, and Sweeney has made his first deliveries.

“The response has been awesome,” he said.

His business model is straightforward, created to intentionally “leave the local businesses alone.” Unlike DoorDash and other corporate food-delivery services, which require participating restaurants to sign up and pay a membership fee to have their food delivered, SweenEats will take an order from anywhere in Peterborough. He’s working for the customer and the restaurant doesn’t take a hit.

To place an order, a customer calls or texts Sweeney. He asks for a name, restaurant pickup location, delivering address and payment method for the delivery charge. The customer calls in the order and pays for the food. Sweeney picks up the food while keeping the customer updated over text, and delivers it to their address. People can pay the delivery fee online or in cash.

“I believe in customer experience,” he said. “I keep in contact with the customer the whole time.”

Sweeney has lived in Peterborugh for nine years.

“I very much care about community,” he said. “This is home. I want to be able to contribute.”

Most important, he said, “I want people to have access to what they need.” He hopes to be able to deliver food with no delivery charge to those who can’t pay it. He’s worried about elderly people who can’t drive and people who are struggling with food insecurity.

Sweeney is also careful to be conscious of food handling. He has insulated bags with cup-holders built in and he said he wants “to keep people with dietary restrictions in mind.” He has separate food carriers for gluten- and dairy-free foods to avoid cross-contamination.

Sweeney said he doesn’t have restaurant partnerships, but he has talked to local eateries and a few are particularly excited to tell their customers about the new delivery service in town. Sweeney has developed relationships with Vital Provisions, Grappelli’s Pizza and Coopers Hhill, but a customer can order from any Peterborough restaurant and Sweeney will pick it up.

If deliveries continue to go well and once Sweeney has time to become established, he hopes to be able to grow his business. He would like to hire on contracted drivers and spread services to neighboring towns in the Monadnock Region.

Sweeney said, “I hope people will look back and say SweenEats started in Peterborough, New Hampshire.”

Customers can contact Sweeney at 781-401-0982. SweenEats charges a $7 delivery fee for orders under $100 and $10 for orders over $100.

Laura Moran of New Ipswich and Amber Kear of Rindge were named to the president’s list for the spring semester at Mount Wachusett Community College...

Petra McLay of Antrim was named to the Castleton University president's list for the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. To qualify...

Riley C. Buckjune of Rindge graduated summa cum laude from Clark University May 22 with a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Community Youth &...

Editor’s Note: This story was first published on New Hampshire Bulletin.Pittsburg bought a police cruiser and emergency cones and barricades...