GrubSouth co-founder Marge Loveday hangs out near the counter at Strada di Napoli Pizza, one of several local restaurants partnering with the food delivery service to expand to-your-door food options in the the Cullman area.

The arrival of a new food delivery service in Cullman is set to expand the number of local restaurants whose offerings can show up at your door, instead of you having to show up at theirs.

With the arrival of Huntsville-based GrubSouth last week, the convenience of ordering take-out has begun to broaden beyond the small handful of local restaurants with in-house delivery. And as more and more restaurants establish partnerships with the service, it’s a convenience that will only grow.

GrubSouth made its Cullman debut with nine local restaurant affiliates, all of whom can prepare anything on their menus for GrubSouth to drop off at your home, hangout, or place of business. To assure food quality and freshness, each restaurant gets to choose the range of its delivery zone, but a typical delivery range puts most orders within seven miles of their target restaurant, with a delivery time of between 30 minutes and one hour.

GrubSouth co-founder Marge Loveday said the business has grown immensely since she and fellow Huntsvillian Katie Herron started GrubSouth with nothing more than a laptop, a $5,000 budget, and an idea that app-based food delivery could succeed just as readily in smaller cities as in the nation’s major metropolitan areas.

“A lot of companies similar to us go after the large, huge cities, but we’ve found that there’s a need in all these smaller and medium-sized cities that they’re bypassing,” said Loveday. “I grew up in Ryland, a tiny little place outside of Huntsville — so I know a good bit about what small towns need; what they can handle.”

How does GrubSouth work? It’s a little like other app-based pickup and delivery services (it’s often compared with Uber), but the manpower behind the scenes is decidedly old-school and local.

Unlike Uber, there’s no aspect of GrubSouth’s operation that isn’t overseen by a real person. The drivers are local, and their picture (as well as a picture of the vehicle they’ll be driving) comes across as soon as you’ve placed your order. “That’s a big thing for people who value safety and security,” Loveday explained. “We want people to feel comfortable and secure when they order through us.”

In terms of using the app itself, things are simple and straightforward.

“People can either go to our website at grubsouth.com or download our free GrubSouth app to their phones,” Loveday explained. “It walks you through the setup, and then it’ll allow you to configure your options and preferences. All forms of payment except checks are accepted, and you can split payments for up to eight people — which is a big deal for people who work together in groups, like medical teams at hospitals and things like that.”

Although still in the testing and tweaking phase, GrubSouth currently offers delivery from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. each day, seven days a week, with some offerings subject to each restaurant’s individual opening and closing hours.

Loveday said the list is likely to grow rapidly, but on day one, the restaurants whose food they’ve already begun delivering include:

Strada di Napoli Pizza at Mae’s Food Hall

I Love Bacon at Mae’s Food Hall

Karma’s Coffee House

Lawler’s Barbecue

Buffalo Wild Wings

Krystal

Both Cullman locations of KFC

Papa Murphy’s Pizza

Strada di Napoli Pizza at Mae’s Food Hall

I Love Bacon at Mae’s Food Hall

Karma’s Coffee House

Lawler’s Barbecue

Buffalo Wild Wings

Krystal

Both Cullman locations of KFC

Papa Murphy’s Pizza