"New food delivery company started by students, for students"

It's late, you're hungry, and the cupboards are as bare as old Mother Hubbard's.

Greg Farrell, a senior business major at UB and friend Eddie Pavone, a senior history major at Buffalo State College, have come up with the perfect solution. Their business, Fast Eddie's Food Delivery Service, serves up piping hot food straight to hungry students' doors from any local restaurant.

Imagine it, Starbucks or Jim's Steak Out -- local non-delivery favorites -- yours with a simple phone call.

Compared to other food delivery services in the Buffalo area such as Take Out Taxi, a company with locations all over the country, Fast Eddie's is cheaper and open later. Take Out Taxi delivers only at meal times, and to only limited areas outside of the city.

"We are centered around where people are. It's not downtown, it's right here," Pavone said; the entrepreneurs run their operation in an office just off of Sweethome Road in Amherst - right down the street from North Campus.

The duo came up with the idea one night while hanging out at home, ravenous and too tired to leave the house.

"We were so hungry and all the good food places didn't deliver," said Pavone. "Neither of us felt like leaving the house. While we were complaining about it, we decided we were probably not the only people to feel this way."

Since they are both in college, gearing their business towards the average student only seemed logical. They take pride in understanding the needs of the college demographic and realize students cannot afford high-priced services.

Junior chemistry major Marco Scouvert and his roommates have been ordering from Fast Eddie's for the past week and say they are hooked.

"We usually order from dine-in restaurants where tipping would be required," Scouvert said. "This makes up for the 15 percent mark-up that Fast Eddie's charges for delivery. It's so worth it."

In contrast, Take Out Taxi charges a $3.99 delivery fee, in addition to 15 percent gratuity and possible gas surcharges.

"It's great when you don't feel like getting dressed up or you don't want to leave the house," Scouvert said. "Sometimes you just want to hang in. Having Red Lobster or Tully's delivered to your door isn't such a bad thing."

With deliveries arriving within 45 minutes or less, patrons of Fast Eddie's never have to worry about cold grub. Unlike Take Out Taxi, this business has special heating bags that plug into a car that they use for each individual order.

"There's no way your food is going to get cold, it would defy the laws of physics," Pavone said.

Catering to the student's need, Fast Eddie's is willing to deliver from any restaurant in town, giving students VIP treatment even Paris Hilton would be jealous of.

"If the restaurant menu is not on our Web site just call us up and we will be glad to deliver it for you," Farrell said.

Students aren't the only ones excited about Fast Eddie's services; it's good news for local businesses as well.

"I have not had any complaints," said Christine Gleene, general manager of Dunkin' Donuts. "The most popular items with college students are the cappuccinos and espressos."

Currently, the owners are also working on obtaining a liquor and tobacco license -- delivering the age-restricted items to the residence halls, however, is out of the question.

"Of course we can't deliver (alcohol) to the dorms, but it will work great for many local residents who don't want to leave the house," Farrell said.

Fast Eddie's currently services the Amherst area, including UB North Campus, as well as areas near Tonawanda and UB South Campus.

"We're basically willing to bend over backwards for our customers," Pavone said. "It would be terrible to have one person complain."

Farrell and Pavone make the ordering process easy at their Web site www.fasteddiesdelivery.com. Orders, which must be at least $15, are verified by phone.