For residents who have ever wished food from their favorite local restaurants could be brought to their front door, one new business is making that dream a reality.

Mobile Waiters of Garner, which has been in operation since Feb. 1, provides delivery from eight restaurants in the Garner and Cleveland areas. The business is owned and operated by Mike and Julie Collins of Garner. Mike was a self-described “victim of the economy” after getting laid off from his corporate job in Cary. He kept in contact with several of his co-workers and learned a former employee of his started up a Mobile Waiters in the Cary area. Mike became interested and began discussing the possibility of starting their own business with his wife.

“My wife is the reasonable one and I’m the dreamer,” said Mike. “I’m the one who has all the harebrained ideas, so when she said, ‘Let’s do it,’ I knew we had to give it a shot.”

The couple operates Mobile Waiters out of their home office, taking orders online and over the phone.

“It gives me the freedom to make my own decisions and in an area that really needed this type of business,” said Mike. “I knew I would learn a lot in doing this, but it’s really been a complete joy. One of the joys has been being able to create jobs for people who really do need jobs. I only wish I could hire everyone that’s called me up.”

Mobile Waiters has three delivery drivers working as independent contractors and are looking to add a fourth as business expands.

There are two ways to place an order – by phone or on the web site. Mobile Waiters receives those orders, then calls or faxes the restaurant to place them.

Aside from the cost of the food, there is a $3.99 standard delivery fee. According to Mike, there are also specials running all the time. They just completed an ACC tournament special, and through the end of March, any orders placed for White Oak Grill will receive free delivery.

Delivery area is within seven miles of the restaurant a customer is ordering from. Deliveries outside of the area are taken on a case by case basis and may require an additional fee. Mike says their goal is to have the food at the customer’s door within 45 minutes of the order being placed, although weekend orders may take a little longer. Mobile Waiters also specializes in providing delivery for company meetings or gatherings. Both individual and group orders can be placed days, weeks and even months in advance. Mike says they are in talks with other local restaurants to add to the delivery list as well.

Delivery hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

According to Mike, local residents have been very receptive to the new business.

“I think people are really excited to have an option for delivery other than pizza,” he said. “We have a comments section on the web site for when you place an order, and I’ve seen everything from ‘phenomenal’ to ‘unbelievably excited’ about the business.”

Mike says having diverse delivery options is ideal for this area.

“A lot of people who live in the area don’t necessarily work around here, so by the time they get off work at 5, 5:30 or 6 and get home, it’s 7 o’clock, and the last thing they want to do is start cooking,” he said. “They can place an order on the way home, and five minutes after they get home we’ll show up on their doorstep with their hot dinner.”

Mike says the delivery option is also beneficial for those who are sick or don’t want to venture out in bad weather.

The Collinses hope to make Mobile Waiters a success in this area and expand into additional areas over the next few months. Mike says he’s had requests for Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Zebulon and North Raleigh.

And even though they run a business that revolves around mealtime hours, Mike says as the parents of three children, he and Julie make it a priority to spend time as a family.

“We put a lot of value on family and want to focus on spending quality time together, especially during dinner,” he said.

To place a delivery order or for more information, call (919) 772-1234 or visit www.mobilewaitersgarner.com.

Participating Restaurants

Chili’s

Cleveland Draft House

Coldstone Creamery

Grill ‘57

Kaze Japanese Steakhouse

La Piazza Italian

Ole Time Barbecue

White Oak Grill