New Web site offers Bloomington menus

When Peter Margulies and Michael Rolland, now IU sophomores, began looking for an easy way to view restaurant menus and find out which restaurants delivered or offered carry-out, they were met by rejection from the numerous phone books around campus. \nThey were also met by rejection from the Internet as well. Bloomington did not have a central Web site customers could use to order food or view menus from different restaurants and bars throughout town, unlike some college towns which do, such as State College, Penn., home of Penn State University. \n"We were tired of not being able to find menus from different restaurants," Margulies said. "We knew there had to be a way to solve the problem."\nIn turn, the frustrated duo decided to put their minds together and create a Web site for the benefit of students, faculty and residents of IU and Bloomington with the creation of www.btownmenus.com, based on Penn State University's version, www.lionmenus.com. \nBtownmenus.com brings a wide range of dining choices at the click of a mouse -- everything from a glimpse of Cheeseburger in Paradise's menu to a way to order Mad Mushroom Pizza online. The Web site also features drink specials and weekly entertainment information for the Bloomington bar scene.\nIn addition to listing local bar specials, Btownmenus.com will also provide specials for restaurants, which are exclusive to the Web site itself. For example, if customers order $9 worth of food from Dominos through the site, they will receive a free order of Cinnastix with icing.\nFor Margulies and Rolland, the entire summer was spent getting the site set up and ready for school to start, and they said they hope it pays off.\n"We launched the site on Aug. 30," Margulies said. "In the first week, we had over 300 visitors a day and 15 orders placed online."\nThe site currently shows menus for all dine-in restaurants in Bloomington, Margulies said. He and Rolland are working on having all delivery companies on their site for online ordering by the end of the year.\nBeing able to just see the menus of restaurants all around town is what enticed sophomore Marrell Johnson.\n"Not only are the menus online, but it tells whether or not the restaurant is open or closed as well," Johnson said after visiting the site Sunday. \nIt's this kind of attitude that Margulies said he is looking for in customers.\n"We are happy we were able to create something that helps out the students, faculty and residents of Bloomington," Margulies said. "We know how important food is in college life and think this will benefit the whole Bloomington community."\nOrdering online is quick and easy. With just a few clicks of the mouse, the order can be delivered without the hassle of the person who took the order messing it up.\nBecause college students tend to look for ways to make life easier and cheaper, this new business can provide ample opportunity for students such as freshman Todd Hatten to do so.\n"I can easily see the menu without leaving the room, see if they can deliver the food to me or if I have to pick it up and see the specials for the week," said Hatten. "Everything is right in front of me -- it makes life so much easier."\nMaybe the most beneficial aspect of the site is the search engine, said Johnson, which lists all Bloomington restaurants alphabetically. \n"The search engine is very helpful," said Johnson. "You don't have to search through the entire site just to see if the restaurant is there which you want."\nMargulies and Rolland have an objective which they hope will make everyone involved in their venture a happy participant.\n"Peter and I are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case something is wrong with the site or customers just want to drop us a line" said Rolland. "We stress customer service. We want people to know we are there and available to listen to what they have to say."\nHowever, Hatten said the way the Web site is set up could be the most enticing to the hungry masses.\nThe site is set up to be simple for students to use -- the company owners said they believe simplicity is the best way to go about business. If the customer is looking for pizza, there is a pizza button which will list each restaurant that serves pizza in town, or customers can go directly to their favorite pizza restaurant's name to find a menu.\n"The site was very well set up," Hatten said. "It makes ordering food faster and easier"