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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Btownmenus continues to grow in Bloomington

ciBTownMenus

Mike Rolland was starving as he paced in his dorm room. It was 2005 — his freshman year at IU. Rolland had gotten back from spring break early and none of the dining halls were open.

This is when Rolland came up with the idea for Btownmenus.

“I was starving and thinking to myself, ‘There’s no way I’m the only one who had this problem.,” Rolland said.

Rolland and his friend, fellow IU alum Peter Margulies, wanted to open a restaurant, but after talking to their families, decided against it.

Instead, the two decided to gather the menus of Bloomington restaurants and see what was out there, Rolland said.

“We weren’t sure where we were going with it, but we had the entrepreneurial drive to do something,” Rolland said.

Btownmenus officially launched in August 2005 as a menu guide and online ordering portal.

Rolland and Margulies explained Btownmenus to restaurant owners as something completely risk free for them. Customers would place orders online through Btownmenus, which would take a small percentage per order, Rolland said.

“Being an 18-year-old, it’s hard to gain the trust of a 45 or 50-year-old restaurant owner,” Rolland said.

The first restaurant to sign up was Swing-In Pizza, Rolland said. Domino’s, Papa John’s, Peach Garden and House of Hunan followed.

“We actually signed up Domino’s very quickly, which was a huge deal because it’s a known brand, so it gave us huge credibility,” Rolland said.

Running the business was difficult at first. There was a small budget to work with, and Rolland and his business partner were immature and didn’t know what managing a business meant, he said.

Rolland, originally from New York City, came to IU to study sports broadcasting, but he quickly learned that wasn’t for him.

“I didn’t deal well with authority,” Rolland said. “I could barely sit through class, so I figured the workforce wouldn’t be a good place for me.”

Bobby Norell, a senior at IU and a driver for Btownmenus, said he wanted to work for the company for similar reasons.

Norell was working as a bus boy, a job he said he didn’t enjoy, and one where he was only making minimum wage. One of his friends was a driver for Btownmenus, and Norell got the job through him.

“You’re basically your own boss, and I make my own hours,” Norell said. “I try to work 12 to 15 hours a week.”

Norell not only enjoys his job for the freedom of scheduling, but he also appreciates the funny stories it’s given him, he said.

“At the beginning of the school year, I was delivering to this sorority girl, and she texts me, ‘If you come without your shirt on, I’ll tip you extra,’” Norell said. “She gave me $15.”

The company has about 100 active drivers in Bloomington.

Margulies is no longer involved with Btownmenus, but Rolland is now his own boss and Btownmenus is his full time job.

Rolland said Btownmenus is at a “really good point” in its business, with a good grasp on the community and its culture. The company is continuing to grow, he said.

Two years ago, he expanded the concept to the University of Colorado Boulder.

“It’s double the size of Bloomington,” Rolland he said. “It launched two years later, but is our largest market now.”

Rolland, who lives in Denver now, said he is still appreciative of everything IU has done, and continues to do, to support the business.

“The entire university really had our back, and they’ve always been really supportive,” Rolland said. “Whether it’s RAs in the dorms or letting us speak in classes, we really got a wave of momentum from being student based.”

Btownmenus is always here for the students, Rolland said. Though people complain there aren’t enough Eat Cheap Weeks, Btownmenus works hard to offer the best deals possible.

“We do our best to put the best product out there without breaking the students’ bank,” Rolland said. “We really just try to make sure nobody has to deal with the burden of having to be hungry, so they’ll always have the convenience of Btownmenus.”

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