To support local restaurants struggling to maintain their business and reach diners as they shelter in place, Rakuten Americas has launched Rakuten Takeout, a free platform for local restaurants to offer takeout options to Rakuten members. For a limited time, members using Rakuten Takeout to place takeout orders will earn 20 percent Cash Back on every order from their favorite local restaurants.

Rakuten Takeout, powered by Rakuten Ready and hosted at Cash Back leader Rakuten.com, is designed for restaurants that need a quick, simple way to streamline takeout order processing and increased demand. The platform enables restaurants to easily build a custom website where Rakuten members can place orders and pay online.

Restaurant partners will benefit from access to Rakuten’s 13-million-member base for increasing organic awareness and expanding customer reach.

“We hope that Rakuten Takeout will be a difference-maker for beloved, local mom-and-pop restaurants and help them continue to thrive long after the COVID-19 crisis ends,” saysAmit Patel, CEO at Rakuten Americas. “Everyone has favorite local restaurants for gathering with family and friends. We are committed to using our technology to help local beloved spots stay open and give their communities safe access to the meals they love.”

“COVID-19 really changed our business overnight, and it’s getting harder to rely on word-of-mouth to drive orders and visits. With Rakuten Takeout, we were able to set up online ordering quickly and easily – and the fact that it is free is so helpful in these hard times,” saysJeff Kim, owner of Totoro Ramen. “The San Mateo community is going to get through this and we are grateful for their continued support of Totoro Ramen.”

Rakuten Takeout is free of charge for restaurants until November 2020. It is currently available to restaurants in San Mateo, Calif. Rakuten Takeout will expand to the wider San Francisco Bay Area and roll out nationally later this year.

San Mateo restaurants featured in Rakuten Takeout include: Chef Sha, Chico’s Tacqueria, Dozo Izakaya, Ginji, Hometown Noodle, Kemuri, Kenta Ramen, Kobeya, Mr. Pizza Man, Mr. Taco Man, Pancho Villa Taqueria, Santa Ramen, Taishoken, Thonglor Thai, Totoro Ramen, with more being added daily.