Who are these guys? And why am I at their website?

I’m thrifty. Most would use the term cheap. I sat in a parking lot in Mishawaka from 5pm until 6am to get free Chick-fil-a a couple summers ago. I’m also a sucker for the hole-in-the-wall joint that has great burgers, but no marketing budget, (let alone stall doors in the bathroom.) I always wanted to try other places around town, or at least have an easy way to make an educated decision on what was out there. The stray misspelled Chinese restaurant menu was all that I had to go on. Oh yea, and I wanted it for cheap too.

When I got out of school, I started to realize that nothing around you is free. That annoying Fergie song on the radio is probably being played because someone’s getting paid. The stock car on the USA Today’s sports page is shown not necessarily because that team won, but because their sponsor won a bidding battle.

So I started thinking about my original idea and how the hunter and the prey could both win. In talking with restaurants around South Bend, a lot of the best ones have simply given up on marketing to students. For them, the way to get students in the door is the same way they get everyone else in the door…buy a newspaper ad or advertise on TV or radio.

Let’s say they spend $500 on a one-and-done ad in the paper. How many people have a copy of the paper around when they want to order food? When late night rolls around, you’re either on google, or looking desperately at the magnets covering your fridge. What drives me? Free stuff. The only ad I ever paid attention to was one that would give me a free something for setting foot in the door. For them, it’s worth it to give something away to get a shot at making me a repeat customer. For me, I’m getting something for nothing…

Our idea is that we take that $500 and put it to good use. Give us $500. We’ll take some to pay the bills and we’ll turn the rest into free food. Give away $400 of pizzas and you’re going to get $400 worth of college students in the door. Guaranteed.

We’ve got some other ideas too. Be able to search local bars by their beers on tap, find out which restaurants/coffee shops offer free WiFi so you can get off-campus for a bit, view up-to-date menus, search by event (i.e. – fam in town, on a date, late night delight,) etc. We want to collect information about EVERY restaurant in the South Bend/Mishawaka area. Sure, there are other sites out there, but they’ve fallen in the same traps as most ND students; they’ve only gone after a select few places…the ones that students already know about. We’re going to tell you about places you should give a try and we want you to tell us about places you think others should try. But best of all, we’re set on ensuring that you are treated like what you are: a creature that eats 2 to 3 times a day. You’ve gotta eat somewhere, and there are hundreds of places out there vying for your business.

The best part about this? People are really excited. We had over 100 people sign up on the website in less than 24 hours live. We’ve had dozens of people ask how they can help, if they can get involved. The answer: tell everyone you know about it. The more students we get using the service, the more discounts and free stuff we can get. Also – talk to us. Tell us what you’d like to see. In no time, you’ll have the ability to recommend restaurants through the site. Stay tuned, and get ready ToGo. (sorry – had to do it.)