Yunji Kim
Have you strolled down Pardall receiving fliers for SBmenus.com and wondered what could possibly be the point of ordering through SBmenus.com rather than from the restaurant itself? Well if you’re one of the many broke college kids in town, SBmenus.com could potentially save you time and money what we all need, considering all the recreational drinks we must buy and consume in so little time.
SBmenus.com is an online business that provides a different, potentially more effective way of viewing menus, browsing bar specials and ordering food online. “We have over a dozen Isla Vista restaurants that provide online ordering through our site, where in turn we get extremely good specials from each restaurant for the students,” says Bryan Brand, co-founder of SBmenus.com. For those hung-over Sunday afternoons, or any day of the week when you’re indecisive about where to eat for dinner, SBmenus.com is a convenient approach to finding food choices that meet your needs. Dusty Stutsman and Bryan Brand, founders of SBmenus.com which launched in the summer of 2008, wished this idea existed when they were in college. According to Brand, the main purpose of the site is to provide information about every restaurant and their corresponding menu online. “Most of these restaurants don’t really have websites or resources to advertise to students,” said Brand.
By ordering through SBmenus.com, users are able to get exclusive deals and specials from the restaurants. In addition, SBmenus.com offers a special delivery service for restaurants that do not normally deliver. When ordering online, one can get Super Cucas delivered to their door between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. on Fridays, every college students dream. And on the more romantic nights, SBmenus.com Specials for Hooteez Goodeez offers a “Booty Call Special,” which includes a 5 pack of condoms and your choice of baby oil or lubricant available for delivery.
SBmenus.com understands the need for value meals, especially since money is often tight for college students. The site has partnered up with many different restaurants and offers exclusive deals only available through the site. “SBmenus not only saves you guys money, but also time,” claims Brand. “It makes it easier, because you can go online and view all the restaurants” hours and menu prior to going out. It’s a pretty cool feature.”
By promoting the site, they are in turn promoting their clients the restaurants. Businesses using SBmenus.com benefit from the continuous distribution. “We know how to market to the kids and advertise the restaurants specials. A lot of these restaurants don’t understand the power of Facebook, so it’s beneficial to them, because we’re promoting their restaurants and hopefully bringing them more business,” states Brand. Though multiple restaurants that the site joined with are fairly popular and have been around for years, many chose to partner up with SBmenus.com for the customer’s convenience.
For instance, Sam from Sam‘s To Go claims, “We’ve been here for thirty years so everyone knows about us. We didn’t need SBmenus for marketing, but it’s something new. It is also more convenient to our customers and gives them a little more flexibility.”
Dogtown, a relatively new restaurant in Isla Vista, has been with SBmenus since their opening. “They approached us and I thought it was a great idea,” says the owner of Dogtown, Grant Robertson. “It seemed like a great concept and it has definitely helped as far as getting the word out.” According to Robertson, SBmenus have been adept in spreading the word on their specials and marketing.
SBmenus.com is absolutely free for customers and users. The concept of SBmenus, as the founders believed, was necessary for students around Isla Vista and Santa Barbara to save money. Becoming an SBmenus.com user can open up a whole new world of online ordering, and is available online to everyone.