Tuesday, February 23, 2010

BlackboardEats...Now That's a Name!

Interesting story from the LA Times about an enterprising entrepreneur who is taking advantage of the difficult times facing restaurants and providing them with what they need…lots of customers. The catch, the customers are getting a big discount on the meal. While I like the idea, I can’t help but feel that the technology is very old school and could benefit from something like Twitter.

The story by Jessica Gelt…BlackboardEats Gives Foodies Discounts at High End LA Restaurants. From the article:

Founded in September by former Yahoo.com food editor Maggie Nemser, BlackboardEats has become a Los Angeles foodie phenomenon. At a time when the starved economy has sucked the fat out of the restaurant business, Nemser has created a free service designed to drive the young, hungry and food-obsessed straight into open banquettes.

The service is simple. Interested parties subscribe to the website by filling out a short form asking only for name, e-mail address and ZIP Code. Then twice a week they receive an e-mail offering an exclusive deal. For example, a free flight of wine at Echo Park's City Sip, or 30% off the bill at Ammo.Subscribers have 24 hours to request a pass code for the promotion and 30 days to redeem it. There are no fees, no blackout dates and no fine print. Most important of all, however, is that Nemser, 30, has managed to make the service feel fashionable and upscale so it pulls in a demographic that is desirable to restaurateurs.

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