From Oven to Doorstep: Discovering Chitré’s Premier Delivery Service

One of the things in life that Jackie and I enjoyed in the States was having pizza delivered to our front door. It’s a small thing, and we’ve probably taken it for granted. Without trying to be an Ugly American (Americans who expect everything to be like it is in the United States), I wondered if Chitré, Panama had the same kind of delivery service.

Our Panamanian bank, Banistmo Bank, sends coupons to my email to get us to use our Debit Card wherever we go. One offer that immediately appealed to us was a coupon for 40% off of Domino’s Pizza. I connected to Domino’s online and saw that their family-size vegetarian pizza was $19.99, so 40% off brought it down to $11.99, and they will deliver it to us. Great! Let’s try it!

Within 20-25 minutes, a young man rides up to our front gate on his motorcycle and beeps a couple of times to get our attention. I run out there and greet him. Some will practice their English with me, and I will do the same in Spanish, and that’s always fun. He handed me the pizza, I tipped him, and he was off to his next location.

The pizza is not bad. We always order ours with very little cheese and lots of veggies. Sometimes, they’ll give us more mushrooms if we ask. Then, one day, out of the clear blue, they quit delivering. What the heck are we going to do now? Jackie and I don’t have a car (yet), so it’s inconvenient for us to call a taxi to go out and have pizza. Don’t get me wrong. We like going out, but sometimes we want to enjoy a pizza and beer/wine on our cozy back patio.

Google came to the rescue! According to Google, I should try this app called PedidosYa, which will hook me up to a few different Pizza places in Chitré and deliver to my front door. It’s a delivery service like DoorDash or Uber Eats in the States. I downloaded the app and started searching. It’s not only a pizza delivery service! They’re connected to hardware stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, and some weird place called Wet Dream PTY (what could that possibly be?). You can get Mexican, Chinese, Vegetarian, Peruvian, Burgers, Natural Juices, and more.

I chose Leonardo’s Pizza and ordered a Family Size – and it was only $8.99 without a coupon! Much cheaper than Domino’s. The app asks your location by pinning it on Google Maps. It remembers your location, payment method, and what you order. It notifies you when the driver shows up at their location, gives you the driver’s name, and shows you on Google Maps exactly where they’re at during the delivery. I waited until he came down our street to walk out of the house. When he stopped, I greeted Armando and thanked him for a speedy delivery. I got my pizza, tipped him, and he was off! Wonderful service! And the pizza from Leonardo’s was fantastic! If you live here in Chitré and haven’t tried delivery service, give it a shot! Let me know how and what they deliver from Wet Dream PTY.