Step aside, national food delivery sites: VB Food Dash is up and running in the River City.

Founded in 2017 by Scott Hancock in New Albany, Miss., the Food Dash company’s latest venture is in Vicksburg, as VB Food Dash. Scott’s sister, Tara Hancock, is leading the Vicksburg team, and said the company’s goal is simple: establish local partners and give small restaurants a venue for delivery services.

“Chanda Williams, our partner, comes to Vicksburg in the summer with her daughter’s pageants. However, she discovered Vicksburg didn’t have a service to deliver from local restaurants when the pageants ended late,” Tara said. “We’ve currently partnered with (10) restaurants in Vicksburg, but our delivery services in other locations have more than 20 restaurants.”

VB Food Dash restaurant partners are: Culley’s BBQ, El Sombrero, The Gumbo Pot, Pizza Inn, The Squeeze Juice, Wingo’s, 10South, Cottonwood Public House, The Biscuit Company and The Sweets-Easy bakery.

In addition to VB Food Dash and NA Food Dash, the Hancock siblings also have 30A Grub To Go in Florida and are establishing service in Destin, Fla., as well.

While the food delivery app and website market is oversaturated on a national level, Tara said there are two differences between VB Food Dash and its larger competitors: support for small businesses and personal service between customers and restaurants.

“There are two primary differences between us and competitors: We only service local restaurants. As small business owners ourselves, we want to support fellow small business owners,” she said. “It’s fun to meet these owners and their staff members and to build relationships with them. The second primary difference is, there’s always a live person you can speak to. They’re watching the maps. They’re there to take calls from the restaurant and the customers.”

Tara herself is working on dispatch from her home base in Oxford, along with three other team members at the company’s dispatch center in New Albany.

Delivery fees for customers are based on mileage from restaurants, at an average of $1.99. VB Food Dash currently employs eight drivers, and is conducting interviews to hire more people in the Vicksburg area.