AURORA, Colo. — AURORA, Colo. -- Inside Aurora’s Mango House, Jasmine Syrian Food is a modern-day picture of the American Dream.
"When I arrived here I used to work four jobs to make this dream happen now," said owner of Jasmine Syrian Food, Mohamad, who did not wish to be fully identified for this story.
Mohamad was born in Syria. He and his family fled the country as civil war erupted. They came to the U.S. as refugees, hoping for a better life.
Now at 24, Mohamad owns his own business.
"I take orders, I cook the orders, I serve, I wash the dishes, I go shopping for the business, I market the business," said Mohamad.
But like many other restaurants, the novel coronavirus pandemic put a stall on his business’ growth and forced him to start using third-party delivery sites like DoorDash and Grubhub.
"Sometimes we get so many orders through those services and when we receive the check, you know, it’s like what we sold more than that," said Mohamad.
His September statement from Grubhub had a total of 16 orders worth $616. After all the fees, he only took home $391.
The Colorado Restaurant Association worked hand in hand with the City of Denver to pass a 15% fee cap on these companies. Now, in Aurora, a similar plan is in the early stages.
"We don’t necessarily know timelines and we don’t necessarily know what that final product is going to look like, but it will likely target a fee cap for the restaurant side of the delivery fee structure and it will likely have some disclosure and transparency for the consumers, and it will likely have a consent element for restaurateurs and third-party delivery companies," said local government affairs manager with the Colorado Restaurant Association, Mollie Steinemann.
Aurora Councilman Curtis Gardner is spearheading the proposal in city. council. He says it will be presented to the Management and Finance Committee on Oct. 27 and if all goes as planned, a final vote could be taken on Nov. 15.
"It’s really hurting all of the businesses. It’s not just me, you know?" Mohamad said.