On-line restaurant ordering tough sell for Carson startup

Restaurant owners are a tough sell, says Scott Boring, owner of Savory7 LLC, an online ordering service designed for restaurants.

No matter that the service is free. "They say no because they are constantly being solicited," he says.

Boring visited a dozen Carson City eateries to pitch his Internet-based product, which lets people order off the menu and pay with a credit card. He bagged two customers: B'Sghetti's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, and Finnuci's Grand Central Pizza and Pasta.

"People are behind their screens eight hours a day," says B'Sghetti's owner Scott Doerr. "Our Web site is one of our greatest marketing tools." Online ordering is a bit cutting edge right now, he adds, but it's the future.

Some restaurant owners had difficulty grasping the concept, says Boring. Others lacked the required fax machine or e-mail address. When an order arrives via e-mail or fax, it activates a phone call to alert the restaurant to the online order.

"On busy evenings, our two telephone land lines can be tied up and people get a busy signal," says Richard Finn, owner of Finnuci's. "Online ordering provides another avenue to order our products."

Savory7 requires no upfront fee to sign up for the service, installed on a restaurant's existing Web site. However, each online order incurs a $1 charge. The restaurant may choose to absorb the fee or pass it on to the customer.

Marketing support for participating restaurants includes promotional door signs, table toppers and stickers to put on carry-out menus.

"And if wanted," Boring adds, "I'll set them up with Google ad search words."

Finally, the service includes an e-mail marketing tool so restaurants can send e-mail coupons to customers.

The Carson City software engineer spent three months building the computer infrastructure from scratch. During his travels to other cities doing contract work, Boring noticed that Dominos and Pizza Hut employed online ordering.

"I order online myself," he says. "It's easier than calling and being put on hold."

However, he says the online ordering market is in its infancy and nonexistent in Carson City. Since launching in November, he's signed five customers, but hopes to grow the business nationwide, signing 200 restaurants in the next two years a small portion of the half a million U.S. restaurants.

While B'Sghetti's and Finnuci's went live with the online service two months ago, each has received a scant half-dozen orders, says Boring.

"It takes three months before Internet promotions take off and people use the service," he adds. "People tend to visit a site three times before trying a new feature."

Boring chose the name Savory7 because,

"I like the name Savory for its positive food connotations and the 7 reflects that the service is available seven days a week."