Wyatt builds curbside directory for Gordon County and Rome eateries
KCaulder@CalhounTimes.com
Curbside delivery has become an increasingly important part of the business model for restaurants in recent weeks as concerns over the coronavirus prevent doors from opening and diners from stopping in for their usual bite to eat. Rome resident Jason Wyatt has a plan to help make that process simpler for restaurant owners and eaters alike.
It all started on Facebook. Wyatt created two groups on the social media platform, Rome Curbside and Delivery and Gordon County Curbside and Delivery, as offshoots of the popular Best of Rome and Best of Calhoun pages. He used the groups to foster conversations about which local eateries were offering curbside pickup for meals for awhile, then decided to do even more when he realized how useful people seemed to be finding the service.
“The groups are there to help people better understand the restaurants and what services they have available to this time when so many of them are choosing not to open and play things safe,” Wyatt said. “People seemed to find it helpful, and I eventually realized I could make it even more useful if I set up online ordering and a directory for restaurants that are offering curbside services.”
Wyatt secured the domain names for bestofcalhoun. com and romelist.com, and then he started reaching out to restaurants to see if anyone would be interested in participating. So far, Calhoun restaurants that have asked to be included include The Yellow Jacket, Duke’s and Trackside. In Rome, they include Speakcheesy, Crawdaddy Seafood Grill and Ana’s by the River.
“It’s a completely free service for the restaurants that participate. All I ask is that they get me their menu to put up on our site,” he said.
Right now, online ordering is the main function of both websites.
Participating restaurants are given access to see what orders come in for their restaurants through the websites and are able to process them as they choose. Wyatt, who spends anywhere from five to 10 hours a day working on the websites, said he hopes to eventually transform them into one singular app so that diners can complete all orders from their phone without ever needing to touch a computer.
“They will still be able to do that if they want, but it’s a service I think people would appreciate,” he said. “I want to simplify the process for people so they feel like it is easy to continue supporting our local businesses during this time.”
Wyatt noted that the project is still in its beginning stages on Thursday and said he hopes other business owners will reach out to submit their own websites for inclusion on his websites. The more businesses who participate, he said, the better it will be for all the others.
“If you want to help out with this effort, have your favorite restaurant get in touch with me,” Wyatt said. “Tell them that it’s free, so they know it’s something you want and that they can do right now to have a little extra support.”
Starting May 4, members of the Calhoun Curbside and Delivery Facebook group will be able to compete for Duke’s gift cards. A contest for Trackside gift cards will kick off May 11. To enter, all participants need to do is tag a friend.
“We are still looking for restaurants to hold contests in Rome,” Wyatt said. “I’ve found that two $25 gift cards really gets people excited about it, and all the sharing and commenting gets the restaurant more exposure too, which is the goal for me at the end of the day.”