DC Snacks Resurrects the Dream of Kozmo.com

We had some friends over the other night (incidentally, the same night the prodigal recycle bin returned), and Hedda mentioned the relatively new DC Snacks, and we decided to try it out.

Their business model is quite reminiscent of the posterchild of the dot-com burnout, Kozmo.com. First, wait until midnight, and then get a craving for some ice cream and cheetos. Then, you log onto their web site and place an order for one of the various items they have available. Most of the items are snackish in nature - like ice cream, chips, and soda - although they do offer some other essential late-night sundries like pre-viewed movies and contraceptives. The order gets delivered “soon,” with a delivery fee if you order less than $15. Furthermore, DC Snacks only targets the late-night city crowd. The delivery area is limited, and the store doesn’t open until 20:00. It’s open until 4:00 on the weekends, though!

As an experiment, we ordered three pints of ice cream. A few minutes later, I received a call from a representative of DC Snacks explaining that two of the three types of ice cream we ordered were not available. We arranged a different order, and then waited for the arrival. About forty-five minutes later, a delivery person showed up at our door, and inside was our ice cream. As an added bonus, perhaps due to the inconvenience of the unavailable ice cream, we also found a condom in our bag. At least, I hope it wasn’t a mistake in packing - otherwise, we might be responsible for some unwelcome results on the pregnancy test of another DC Snacks customer in the near future…

And so the dream of Kozmo.com lives on, but this time they hopefully won’t burn out like a supernova. After all, there is always a market for 2am ice cream.