Hi all, it's Eric. This week Grubhub Inc. Chief Executive Officer Matt Maloney gathered a group of reporters for dinner and drinks at the Mexican restaurant Cosme in New York’s Flatiron District. Maloney is in the unpleasant position of having watched his stock's value get cut in half from last September’s high. That’s partly because the more than 10-year-old company now has competitors on all sides.

In one corner, there’s DoorDash Inc., which raised money at a $7.1 billion valuation in February, eclipsing Grubhub’s current $6.4 billion market capitalization. Then there’s Uber Technologies Inc., which plans to make its food delivery business central to its public offering later this month.

Maloney couldn’t take it anymore. “It’s annoying,” he said, but in the same breath insisted, “It’s absolutely not hurting our growth.”

Given all the attention paid to the money-losing logistics-heavy businesses now flocking to the public markets, it’s easy to forget about the tech startups that already made the pilgrimage. If I had to describe the tone of Maloney and Grubhub Chief Financial Officer Adam DeWitt over wine and spicy margaritas, I’d say their message was one of defiant incredulity. “We see the markets are not rational always,” Maloney said.

In an unusually frank on-the-record session with reporters, the pair rattled off what they believe are Grubhub’s many overlooked strengths, including a growth rate above last year’s, profitability that’s rare in the delivery world, and a spot in an industry that’s growing so fast there should be room for everyone. They also complained about SoftBank Group Corp.’s money (it has invested in both Uber and DoorDash), and new purportedly faulty numbers showing DoorDash pulling ahead of them.  

It was clear that the pair felt overshadowed in this moment by Grubhub’s younger rivals. Maloney seemed to be bracing for Uber’s IPO filing (though he had kind word's for Uber's CEO, whom he used to consult for recruiting advice). Maloney saved the bulk of his ire for DoorDash, which raised $400 million in February. “The problem is when you have a company like DoorDash spending hundreds of millions and not being held accountable,” he said. “It’s frustrating.” The pair said that Grubhub’s customers haven't been defecting to the startup, despite its market share gains. 

The fact that Grubhub’s leadership has seemed to reach a breaking point—going on the offensive with a roomful of Manhattan reporters—is interesting all on its own. But their perspective may also be useful for anyone trying to evaluate the larger delivery business.  

Maloney and Dewitt said, in so many words, that big national food chains pay food delivery services very little. Grubhub’s campaign with Taco Bell will likely do more to attract new customers than drive profits, they said. The duo also seemed skeptical that Uber and DoorDash’s partnerships with national brands generated much money for the delivery businesses.

They were more bullish on partnerships with smaller restaurants, which pay more for logistical assistance because they need the help, or which operate their own cheaper delivery services. Uber has signaled that it would like to work with restaurants' existing delivery operations as well.

We also touched on DoorDash’s recent driver tipping scandal (they expressed bewilderment that the company wouldn’t pay up), and the possibility of a Postmates Inc. IPO this year (their theory: company leadership has too much hubris not to try).  

It will be interesting to see how Grubhub weathers the storm. I asked Maloney if he should be more worried. When real estate marketplace Zillow Group Inc. faced competition from upstart OpenDoor, for example, it shook up its entire business model and switched out its CEO. Maloney said Grubhub didn’t need to do something that drastic. The business is working, he said, “We are growing faster than we have before.” —Eric Newcomer