Chowly History Timeline
From Tablet Hell to Total Control: The Journey of Chowly
What started as a way to eliminate faxed tickets and tangled tablets has become one of the most widely adopted digital ordering platforms in the U.S. Explore Chowly’s key milestones, from scrappy startup beginnings to powering over 17,000 restaurants today.
🕒 The Full Timeline
Sterling Douglass and Justin McNally launch Chowly to solve “tablet hell,” integrating third-party orders (Grubhub, Eat24) directly into the POS. No more retyping. No more missed tickets. Just smoother service.
Chowly raises seed funding from MATH Venture Partners and others, opens its first office, and starts scaling.
Dec 6, 2016 – GlobeNewswire: "Chowly, Inc. Expecting Record Growth in 2017"
Built In Chicago names Chowly one of the “50 Startups to Watch.” With fast growth and new hires, Chowly doubles down on its mission to streamline online ordering across the country.
Jan 2017 – Built In Chicago: “50 Chicago startups to watch in 2017”
A $5.8M Series A fuels massive growth. Chowly expands to 1,500+ restaurants across 200 cities in North America, delivering POS integrations to fast-casual chains and local favorites alike.
Jul 12, 2018 – Newswire.com: “Chowly Nets $5.8M for Its Restaurant POS Integration Technology”
Jul 13, 2018 – TechCrunch: “Chowly is raising $5.8 million to help restaurants manage on-demand delivery orders”
Sep 21, 2018 – Silicon Prairie News: “Chowly raises $5.8 million for new hires and market expansion”
Chowly partners with DoorDash to offer on-demand delivery through DoorDash Drive, fully integrated into the POS. Restaurants can now fulfill delivery orders directly, no manual entry needed.
Sep 9, 2019 – PYMNTS.com: "DoorDash Teams With Chowly To Expand Restaurant Delivery”
Sep 10, 2019 – VendingMarketWatch: “Chowly Partners With DoorDash To Power Delivery As A Service for Restaurant Clients”
When the pandemic hits, Chowly waives setup fees and offers free trials to help restaurants go off-premise fast. Later that year, Chowly formalizes its partnership with Grubhub, improving menu sync and order flow.
Mar 17, 2020 – Business Wire: “Chowly to Help Enable Restaurants to Maximize Delivery Amid COVID-19 Crisis”
Nov 18, 2020 – Food On Demand: “Chowly Nabs Grubhub Integration”
Chowly teams up with Sam Nazarian’s C3 to bring virtual brands (like Umami Burger) to its restaurant clients, unlocking new revenue streams without new locations.
Jun 16, 2021 – Restaurant Dive: “C3, Chowly partner to bring virtual brands to 10K restaurants”
Veteran marketer Kristin Peterson joins as SVP. Chowly begins its shift from a single-point solution to a unified platform, laying the groundwork for first-party ordering, dynamic pricing, and marketing tools.
Jun 1, 2022 – Business Wire: “Chowly Appoints Kristin Peterson as Senior Vice President of Marketing”
In 2023, Chowly accelerated its transformation into a full-service platform through major acquisitions and key product launches. In February, the company acquired Koala, a digital ordering and guest experience platform, expanding its capabilities into first-party online ordering with custom websites, mobile apps, and kiosk tools. That same month, Chowly debuted the Restaurant Control Center, a centralized dashboard that gave operators real-time visibility and control over their digital ordering channels, menus, and analytics.
In May, Chowly launched Smart Pricing—a dynamic pricing tool that allowed independent restaurants to automatically optimize third-party delivery prices to protect margins.
By June, Chowly Online Ordering officially rolled out, leveraging Koala’s tech to give restaurants a seamless, branded ordering experience fully integrated with their POS. Together, these developments positioned Chowly as a leading off-premise platform serving over 16,000 restaurants with a powerful suite of tools to drive digital sales and streamline operations.
Feb 1, 2023 – Business Wire: “Chowly Announces Acquisition of Koala”
Feb 22, 2023 – Business Wire: “Chowly’s New Restaurant Control Center Unlocks Business Growth for Restaurant Owners”
May 9, 2023 – Business Wire: “Chowly Introduces Smart Pricing to Boost Restaurant Profitability in the World of Digital Ordering”
Acquires Targetable, bringing automated digital marketing into the Chowly tech stack. Now restaurants can run ads, sync menus, and track results, all from one place.
Jan 4, 2024 – Restaurant Dive: “Chowly buys digital marketing platform Targetable”
Chowly’s evolution into a complete off-premise platform was formally recognized with the official launch of the Chowly Platform. This all-in-one solution now includes first-party online ordering, a website and mobile app builder, third-party marketplace integration, dynamic pricing, and digital marketing tools, empowering independent restaurants to manage everything outside their four walls in one place.
In May, Chowly was named a DoorDash Preferred Integration Partner, one of only 11 companies selected for their performance and reliability. This recognition from DoorDash cemented Chowly’s position as one of the most trusted and integrated digital ordering partners in the restaurant industry.
Jan 13, 2025 – Restaurant Business Online: “Tech supplier Chowly launches all-in-one off-premise ‘platform’”
May 19, 2025 – DoorDash News: “DoorDash Introduces Preferred Integrations Program to Help Restaurants”
Today, Chowly is one of the most trusted and widely adopted digital platforms for independent restaurants, serving over 17,000 locations across more than 3,000 brands. The Chowly Platform empowers operators to take full control of their off-premise business with a complete suite of tools—all in one place, including first-party online ordering, marketing website and app builders, marketplace integrations, Dynamic Pricing, digital marketing, and more. Recognized as a Preferred Integration Partner by DoorDash and trusted by leading delivery platforms like Grubhub, Chowly helps restaurants grow direct orders, simplify operations, and boost profitability, without juggling multiple vendors.
