Pagliacci Pizza plans drone delivery in Seattle area

If you’re a pizza lover in the Seattle area, a drone may deliver your Pagliacci Pizza order in the future.

Pagliacci Pizza is partnering with drone company Zipline to begin drone delivery to customers in the Seattle area, according to a statement from Zipline on Wednesday. There is no exact timing for the deployment.

The drones will have the capacity to carry two 13-inch Pagliacci pizzas, drinks and side dishes.

Matt Galvin, co-owner of Seattle-based Pagliacci, said in an interview the drones will allow for faster delivery and wider reach than what is possible with the chain’s driver team of 250. He said he didn’t expect the drone delivery will lead to a change in delivery fees. 

“Many of the addresses around our locations are hard for our drivers to reach,” Galvin said. “Either they’re too far away or they’re difficult to get to, and this [drone delivery] affords us the opportunity to easily do that.”

Pagliacci, which opened in 1979 and began deliveries in 1992, has 25 locations in the Seattle area. Galvin said the drones would be available in a few locations initially.

The pizza chain plans to maintain the number of drivers and possibly hire more employees as the wider reach may increase demand, Galvin said. But the drones also have limitations. They can’t fit Pagliacci’s most popular order, the 17-inch pizza, or larger orders, so drivers are necessary, he added.

Galvin said he was attracted to the partnership because it would decrease Pagliacci’s carbon emissions. The company has purchased electric bikes and vehicles for deliveries as part of its commitment to become carbon neutral, he said.

“Zipline’s drones will enable us to scale our deliveries sustainably with up to 97% fewer emissions than cars,” Galvin said in a news release.

The Zipline drones can deliver goods to customers in a 10-mile service radius. They fly more than 300 feet above the ground and are “nearly silent, designed to sound like rustling leaves in the wind,” according to Zipline. Besides Pagliacci, Zipline has partnered with other companies including GNC and fast-food restaurant chain Sweetgreen on drone deliveries.

This isn’t South San Francisco-based Zipline’s first Washington state venture. In July, the startup announced its drones would begin ferrying medical supplies from health care provider MultiCare to addresses in Tacoma starting in 2024.

In 2021, Pagliacci settled a class-action lawsuit for wage theft for $3.75 million. Delivery drivers argued in the suit that Pagliacci had failed to distribute tips and did not pay drivers a $3 delivery charge paid by customers. 

Founded in 2014, Zipline designs, manufactures and operates delivery drones. It got its start delivering medical supplies in Africa. Zipline has gathered funding from big venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. It raised $330 million in its latest funding round in April, valuing the startup at nearly $4.2 billion.