Chinese food, for those that love it, is something you regularly crave. There are some excellent Chinese food restaurants, some middle-of-the-road Chinese restaurants, and Chinese restaurants that just fulfill the craving long enough that you can stop craving this food for a while. Unfortunately, some of the best restaurants do not deliver, while some of the not-so-great restaurants will go out of their way for Chinese food delivery. Here are the reasons why.

High-End Chinese Restaurants Buy Quality Products but Do Not Deliver

Some of the best Chinese food comes from high-end Chinese restaurants. These restaurants use only the best and freshest quality ingredients, never frozen. That is why their food tastes as good as it does. It is also the reason why they cannot hire a Chinese food delivery driver or invest in delivery vehicles.

Delivery Is Often Desired Late at Night

Chinese food is often something people want to eat late in the evening or at night. Chinese restaurants are not always open that late. Those that are open late are not able to pay third shift wages, cover a driver for liability insurance reasons, or provide full health coverage in the event that the driver is attacked on a delivery stop.

Low-End Restaurants Operate as Buffets

Low-end Chinese restaurants operate as buffets. Much of what they serve is frozen, easy to prepare, and keeps costs low. They may also pay low wages to employees, or have family work in the restaurant for free. Thus, they can afford to pay a driver to deliver whatever is currently available in the restaurant.

Conversely, other low-end Chinese restaurants may not hire a lot of people to begin with. They may have two or three people cooking in the kitchen, and one more person to wash dishes. Two or three servers cover the dining area and cash register. There is no one available to run deliveries most nights of the week, and no way to offer specific menu items because everything is prepared from frozen packages.

Mid-Grade Chinese Restaurants

Mid-grade Chinese restaurants may only offer lunch delivery services and only if the bill tops a certain dollar amount. The cost of the food covers the salary of the driver and gas in the driver's tank. Most restaurants that do this barely break even. Drivers depend on tips to make a decent wage. If the restaurant offers no delivery during lunch but does offer dinner delivery, it means there is adequate profit to be made.