By Liz Witbeck
RoamPlate is a new website that allows
diners to view the daily specials of Saratoga
Springs restaurants, launched in June.
The creator, Zack Vogel, is an engineer who
moved to Saratoga Springs from Manhattan
with his family in 2008. That was during the
economic recession, and although Saratoga
Springs was better off than many areas, Vogel
said he worried about the restaurant scene
within the city. This was coupled with his
dismay with how restaurants marketed their
business.
Some restaurants do not post their dinner
specials on their website. Many will post them
on social network sites such as Facebook, but
this requires “liking” those pages and allowing
them to post information to the Facebook
news feed. Vogel said after “liking” three or
four restaurants, he was quickly inundated
with information in his news feed.
“I thought there had to be a better way to
communicate restaurant’s marketing than
going to Facebook” said Vogel.
RoamPlate is a website that allows diners
to view, all in one place, what specialty items
local restaurants are serving. Information
presents itself in a live feed, with the staff at
the restaurant uploading the specials to the
website so they are instantly available.
Vogel hired Battenkill Design, a local company, to design the website.
As of late July, there were 24 restaurants
participating in RoamPlate, including Wheatfields,
Olde Bryan Inn, Longfellows and Ravenous.
Restaurants pay a monthly subscription
fee to advertise on the website. It is free
for diners to browse the website to view daily
specials. Creating a free user account allows
users to save their favorite dishes, get alerts,
and use a rating system.
When a user sees a special item on the
RoamPlate website that they have tried in the
past and want again, or maybe have not tried
but want to, they can add it to their “favorite
dishes” section. RoamPlate will send a text or
email alert, depending on user preferences,
the next time that dish is available at the
restaurant.
“This allows restaurants to put their
best sounding specials out in front of
diners, specifically when they are looking”
said Vogel.
Vogel said he is already planning to expand.
Restaurants in Ballston Spa have already
started to join. He hopes to expand to include
restaurants throughout all of the Capital
Region, from Albany to Glens Falls, in the
near future.
To sign up for RoamPlate and start browsing
the daily specials of your favorite restaurant,
visit www.roamplate.com.