Fisheries and Wildlife senior Dan Ryan arrives back from delivery June 18, 2014, at Noodles & Company on E. Grand River Ave. Ryan has worked for Noodles & Company for 2 years. Hayden Fennoy/The State News.
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At night, especially on weekends, cars zip through campus and East Lansing with their roofs set aglow by the signs of their employers, East Lansing’s most in-demand eateries. But other delivery workers speed around town in silence, with only flashing tail lights to signify their presence. They deliver on bike.
Many different restaurants in East Lansing offer delivery services so customers — both inebriated and sober — do not have to leave the comfort of their homes. Delivery workers are known for having to drive for their job, but other restaurants, such as Noodles & Company, have their employees deliver via bicycle.
General manager of Noodles & Company Kelly Parks said the restaurant made the decision to have delivery riders on bikes with the environment in mind.
Parks said because the delivery workers are on bikes, their range for travel is somewhat smaller than where other businesses may go.
However, Parks said bike delivery is much faster than car delivery.
“The guys can get in and out of traffic very quickly ... it’s a lot faster through campus because they can take shortcuts that a car wouldn’t be able to take,” Parks said.
Parks said the company started out with eight riders but during the school year, the number increases to 12 delivery riders.
Fisheries and wildlife senior Dan Ryan said he has worked for Noodles & Company for about two years and was one of the first hired to deliver on bicycle.
Ryan said he enjoys being a delivery worker for Noodles & Company because he gets paid to do one of his favorite hobbies while at work — cycling.
“(Yesterday) I got out of work, went home and went mountain biking,” Ryan said.
While on the job, Ryan said he has experienced some interesting events and he enjoys all the different people he encounters while working.
The bikes that Noodles & Company riders use have flags attached to them, and Ryan said people have frequently tried to steal his flag. On one occasion, someone even tried to pull him off his bike. Intoxicated pedestrians can also pose a hazard.
“A lot of people, they get really excited when they see our delivery riders on bikes,” Parks said.
In addition to the Noodles & Company delivery riders, biological science senior and Jimmy John’s employee Bo Parsons also delivers on bike.
“Ninety percent of my delivery driving is on my bike,” Parsons said.
Parsons said he prefers to ride his bike while delivering because it saves him money on gas.
Around MSU, there are three Jimmy John’s locations that advertise “freaky fast” deliveries and depend on their bike delivery service to provide it.
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