Lincoln County gets new delivery service — Owner is a fanatic about convenience he offers to others
Published 7:56 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018
- Photo by Donna Campbell/Elisa Corley started Delivery Fanatics recently and charges a flat rate in the city and ads 40 cents a mile in the county to deliver food, beverages and convenience store items.
A Brookhaven man with a plan wants to bring you hot food.
Elisa Corley started Delivery Fanatics almost two weeks ago. It’s a mobile-based delivery service covering Brookhaven and all of Lincoln County. You order your food, groceries or whatever you need picked up and he’ll do the running for you.
But the convenience comes at a cost.
Corley first came up with the delivery service idea 12 years ago, but he said Brookhaven wasn’t ready for it at the time. He’s trying again with hopes that his customers might need his services.
It’s a web and mobile based service. Customers call Corley at 601-348-1973 and check availability, then order from the restaurant either on their website or by phone and then call Corley back with the location, amount of order and the delivery address. Corley’s drivers will pay for the order and collect the cost plus the fee upon delivery. Orders can also be prepaid online with a debit or credit card on Corley’s website, www.deliveryfanatics.com.
The website includes an alphabetical list of restaurants, phone numbers and even menus when available.
Delivery is usually available seven days a week starting at 10 a.m. all the way to 2 a.m. for those late night cravings for something scattered, smothered and covered.
“They call and ask, ‘Are you available to deliver?’ We’ll instruct them to make the order and call back with the amount and (then we’ll) deliver to them to their home, work or work site and hotel,” he said.
Delivery in Brookhaven is $6 per address, which means offices can order pickup for lunch and split the delivery cost. Outside the city limits is an additional 40 cents a mile.
“We kept that as low as we can keep it,” he said.
There’s an additional charge of $2 for each extra stop.
“Your kids might want Little Caesars and you might want Bo Bo’s,” he said. “And stop and get a 2-liter at Blue Sky. That would be an extra $4.”
Corley said calls are starting to pick up.
“We’re getting a lot of phone inquiries from people, wondering if it’s real,” he said.
Corley is banking on his customers’ need for a luxury service.
“They’ll be thinking, ‘Man, I don’t have to get my clothes on. I don’t have to put the kids in the car. Oh, man, it’s raining,” he said.
Those who want the convenience is his customer base.
While Delivery Fanatics mostly deals with transporting food for customers, Corley’s drivers will also make stops at other locations for items if they don’t have to shop. Customers can make the order and drivers can pick it up for them. It would take too long to shop for someone, he said. However, some stores, like Walmart, allow customers to place orders for pickup and pay for it online.
Drivers can also deliver alcohol and beer — but only in the city — and tobacco products. Corley’s disclaimer on his website specifies that customers must be at least 18 years old to receive tobacco products and at least 21 to receive alcohol. ID will be required.
Corley uses restaurant-grade containers to keep food at the appropriate temperature, whether that’s hot pizza or frozen ice cream.
He tested the bags recently by bringing pizzas to the Lincoln County jail where he works as a corrections officer. He made two extra stops after getting the pies.
“I told them, ‘Y’all tell me if this pizza is hot’ and it burnt their mouths,” he said.
In the past, Corley made pickups at Skeetburger Snackshop in Wesson and Ruby Tuesday in McComb. He said he’ll do that again if requested.