Restaurants from New York to California beg customers to cut out delivery apps like Grubhub during COVID-19 because fees are killing their already struggling businesses (6 Pics)

Restaurants are pleading with customers to cut out delivery services like Seamless and Grubhub during the COVID-19 pandemic because they say the commission fees are killing their already struggling businesses.

The restaurants - stretching from New York to California - are instead urging people to order directly from them so they don't have to pay the middle man. 

Food delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Caviar and Grubhub, which also owns Seamless, can charge anywhere up to 40 percent of how much a restaurants makes from app-generated revenue.  

Demand for delivery apps skyrocketed when restaurants across the US were forced to close for dine-in services two months ago as part of lockdown measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

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Restaurants are pleading with customers to cut out delivery services like Seamless and Grubhub during the COVID-19 pandemic because they say the commission fees are killing their already struggling businesses

But even as lockdown restrictions are eased in parts of the country, some restaurants say they may not be able to reopen at all if they keep having to pay commission to the delivery apps. 

The owner of the Pitas and Sticks restaurant in Brooklyn, New York has been putting notes in delivery bags saying that services like Grubhub are killing his business.

John Stamos told NBC News that 90 percent of his online orders at the moment came from Grubhub.

The note he gives to customers reads: 'Small businesses like us need your support in this time of crisis

'Online apps such as GRUBHUB ARE CHARGING US 30% of each order and $9 or more on orders made using phone numbers on their app or website … please help save the restaurant industry by ordering directly with us.' 

Phat Eatery, a restaurant in Katy, Texas, revealed last month it had been able to ditch delivery apps after appealing to customers to order directly through them.

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Phat Eatery, a restaurant in Katy, Texas, revealed last month it had been able to ditch delivery apps after appealing to customers to order directly through them. It had pleaded with customers to order directly through them instead of the apps

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Mesa Pizza Company in Santa Barbara, California has put a note on its Yelp page urging people to order through their website

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The Park and Field restaurant in Chicago also urged customers to support them, saying their hourly and tipped employees would be delivering the food themselves

They had been urging customers to order via their website to they could keep more of their staff employed and feed their families. 

Mesa Pizza Company in Santa Barbara, California has put a note on its Yelp page urging people to order through their website.

'HELP US survive by CALLING in your order for PICK UP. Save US 33.% & YOU 40% on food commission paid for deliveries surcharge, FREE bread sticks when ordering pick-ups instead of delivery,' a message on the site read.

The Park and Field restaurant in Chicago also urged customers to support them, saying their hourly and tipped employees would be delivering the food themselves. 

'Want to do something to help the restaurant industry? Our hourly and tipped employees will be delivering the food themselves. Gives them much needed hours and tips in these trying times. Eliminates the 30% fees Grubhub and doordash take,' they wrote on Instagram.  

A new startup called Spread, which is a commission-free platform, sends out text messages to subcribers promoting delivery and takeout options from local restaurants in New York. 

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Pictured above are delivery drivers waiting outside New York's famous Carbone restaurant after it was forced to close amid the coronavirus pandemic

The app, which is currently only operating in parts of New York City, is aiming to roll out nationwide to help support local restaurants. 

In an effort to help struggling restaurants, some cities have already put a cap on commissions for delivery apps.

Seattle, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC have all imposed a 15 percent cap on commissions that apps can charge to deliver food and drinks.

Last month, Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Eats were sued in New York for allegedly exploiting their dominance in restaurant meal deliveries to impose fees that consumers ultimately bear through higher menu prices. 

In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, three consumers said the defendants violated US antitrust law by requiring that restaurants charge delivery customers and dine-in customers the same price, while imposing 'exorbitant' fees of 10-40 percent of revenue to process delivery orders.

The consumers, all from New York, said this sticks restaurants with a 'devil's choice' of charging everyone higher prices as a condition of using the defendants' services.

They said this made it harder to keep tables full even before the pandemic wiped out most dining in restaurants, at least temporarily.