Ano Delivery is a local business started by two CWU students, Dante Palmisano and Juan Zamorano, whose last names both end with “ano.” Through their website, anodelivery.com, customers can order food from any restaurant in Ellensburg and have it delivered to their door for a fee which can be as low as $6.

Palmisano and Zamorano met at work washing dishes, and were inspired to start the business after a previous delivery company, Ellensburg Delivery, stopped operation.

“One day I just remember looking at Dante in the eyes, and I was really serious,” Zamorano said. “I was like tomorrow we’re starting a food delivery business. And then that next day we met upstairs in the SURC and we started planning it out.”

That was January, and after three months of planning, web design and meeting with local restaurants, Ano Delivery was up and running in April.

The company currently doesn’t have any employees, save a couple of volunteers, and only operates  from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on most days. These scheduled hours allow the small crew to guarantee service for all orders, as opposed to most app-based delivery services, which are dependant on driver availability.

Ano Delivery differentiates itself from companies like Uber Eats and Postmates with its wide selection of restaurants.Their service plugs certain businesses as “associates” on their website, but they will deliver from any restaurant in town regardless.

“We went to every single restaurant, there are about 80 resturaunts in town,” Palmisano said. “The reason why we choose [the term] ‘associate’ is because we’re not binding them to any contract with us, we’re just working closely with them. It’s almost like a friendship or a mutual understanding.”

The Anos tried their best to keep their prices reasonable, thinking about what they themselves would pay for the service and settled on a flat $6 fee, with some stipulations. For the most part, everything in Ellensburg is within a 5-mile radius, so gas prices and delivery times aren’t among their top concerns.

The work is paying off, according to Palmisano and Zamorano. They make between 10 and 20 deliveries a day.

“If we could scale it up to around 30 or 40 that would be so cool, we could start hiring more people,” Zamorano said. “But that’s kinda more big picture.”

In the future, Ano Delivery hopes to expand the scope of their deliveries. They have their eyes set on groceries, alcohol and possibly even cannabis delivery.

The service is always working to improve their interface, according to Palmisano. They hope to improve their website over the coming months and start development on a dedicated Ano Delivery App.

Ano delivery can be ordered through their website anodelivery.com, or via call or text at (509) 420-5653.