UberEATS heads to Charleston, but what about Columbia?

Score another victory for the Charleston dining scene...maybe.

The latest news is that Uber will soon begin its food delivery service UberEATS in Charleston sometime in the near future. And Columbia? Uber Support responded to our inquiry with “thanks for reaching out. We’re working hard to expand our service area, please stay tuned to our website for updates.” Thanks, UberEATS.

UberEATS picks up meals from participating restaurants and delivers door-to-door... for a fee, just like Uber’s rider service. The food delivery started in large cities such as San Francisco, New York and Chicago and is now in over 80 cities in North America. Closer to Columbia, folks can access UberEATS in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh.

Columbia already has food delivery services — 256ToGo and Grubhub — where you can order online and have food from participating restaurants delivered to your door.

The difference between UberEATS and, say 256ToGo, is that 256ToGo acts like a taxi service with flat rates based on the distance from the restaurant. With UberEATS, you’ll be subject to “busy area” fees (just like Uber). In the FAQ page at about.ubereats.com, calculation for busy fees is described as “dynamic and calculated by taking into account how many people want to use the service and how many delivery partners are on the road in a certain area.”

Grubhub will let you place an order using Google Voice and Amazon Alexa, and like 256ToGo, there’s a flat delivery fee — depending on the restaurant.

So who has it better? Columbia may edge out the Holy City on this one, even with the cache of the UberEATS name.

And by the way, 256ToGo does not currently deliver in the Charleston area.