'Btown Menus' offers discounts, delivery

In its second year in Bloomington, Btownmenus.com is continuing to grow.\nThe business, started by juniors Peter Margulies and Michael Rollandhab when they were freshmen, continues to gain popularity as new people find out about the services the Web site offers, they said.\nThe site provides menus for every restaurant in Bloomington and allows users to order what they want right from the site.\n"Mike and I were sick of ordering food from the same restaurants over and over again," Margulies said. "We looked at each other and decided that there had to be a better way of ordering food from different places and started looking into it."\nOnline ordering with the Web site is simple. First, users find the restaurant they want to order from and select the link. The site then pulls up the menu of the restaurant. From there, users can choose what type of food they want to order. The final step is to "check out." Costumers can pay with cash, a credit or debit card. Food will then arrive at the doorstep or be ready for pickup at the restaurant.\nAlong with the menu of the restaurant, the site also lists the phone numbers of both restaurants that are already part of Btownmenus' online system and those yet to be added -- for those who prefer to do things the old-fashioned way.\n"It is very beneficial to me," said junior Matt Zacarias. "I use it about every two to three weeks, and it's extremely convenient just to hop onto my computer and look at the menu and order from there."\nMargulies said he believes the Internet has unlimited possibilities for online ordering.\n"This generation of students has been ordering everything online from shoes to clothes to socks since they were 7 or 8 years old," Margulies said.\nBtwonmenus has numerous specials that students can only take advantage of when they order from the site.\nAlthough Margulies and Rolland said they encourage anyone who wants to start a business to begin one, they've been swamped with being full-time students and running their own business.\n"We had to add someone to the team," Margulies said. "Zach Mitchell, a friend of mine for two years, has learned a lot about the business from being around us last year. He joined us during the summer as the vice president of operations."\nAlong with hiring a new VP, the business just added a new Bloomington restaurant to the list, with another coming soon. Both additions will have online ordering capabilities.\nDP Dough, which offers calzones until 4 a.m., was added a few weeks ago. Mixed Greens will be available in the near future.\nThe new restaurants also have specials: DP Dough is providing three calzones for $5 each when ordered online.\nBar specials are included for late-night diners. The Web site is updated weekly with the latest drink, food and entertainment specials, Margulies and Rolland said.\nAs the business continues to grow, the main emphasis will be on keeping hungry students up to date, Margulies said.\n"We always want to do what's best for students in keeping living cost cheap," he said. "With all of our specials, we want them to keep checking up and see what we offer, as we will continue to add more to this site in the future"