Pictured L-R: Troy Klaus, Paul Abelseth (There is also Jesse Rutherford and Brian Abelseth as the other two founders. 

By Steve Suk

First Permanent Location In Red Deer

Local tech start-up changes the way you buy alcohol

Nov 5, 2021 | 3:40 PM

Red Deer – What started as an experiment for four friends laid off at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, is now a permanent fixture in the Red Deer business community.

Since launching in June 2020, Doortender has opened a permanent liquor store on Red Deer’s South Hill and hired over a dozen staff and drivers to support its growing demand.

What makes Doortender different from a typical liquor store, however, is their use of technology to offer free delivery to your home.

Customers simply visit doortender.ca or download the app, place an order, and their alcohol is delivered within the next 60 minutes. Customers can also schedule orders for later in the week or send a gift to friends or family.

In the store, you won’t see your typical shelves of liquor. Instead, you see things like TV’s featuring cocktail videos and QR codes to browse products.

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“What makes Doortender different is our focus on technology,” comments Troy Klaus, CEO and one of the co-founders of the start-up. “We try and use technology wherever we can, because it’s not only more convenient for our customers, but it also makes our operations more efficient, which actually allows us to pass savings on to our customers.”

These efficiencies, according to Klaus, are what allows Doortender to provide affordable home delivery.

“We’re trying to be different from the delivery services out there right now, we want to be affordable. So, we don’t charge a delivery fee, and we don’t raise our prices – we’re quite proud of that. People think there is some catch, and that we’re more expensive. But we’re not. It’s all about using technology,” Klaus comments.

One of the other ways Doortender is trying to be different, is by using its own delivery drivers. This allows the online liquor store to avoid using third party delivery services.

“Using our own technology and delivery drivers is really what sets us apart” explains Klaus.

Now, it has its eyes set on expanding across the province.

“We’re really excited to bring this to the rest of Alberta, we think there is a real demand for it. People want the convenience of delivery, but maybe more importantly, they want it to be affordable, and they want it to stay local. Doortender fits that perfectly,” says Klaus.

Despite the team’s excitement to expand across the province, Red Deer will always be the home for Doortender, as Klaus added. “Red Deer will always be headquarters for us. We’re really proud to be a tech start-up in Red Deer, and we hope to inspire others to do the same. Because of its location between Calgary and Edmonton, it makes a lot of sense to always keep our head office here.”

For more information about Doortender, visit www.doortender.ca. Please drink responsibly.