“Goliath has finally met its David.”
Timothy Ryan, CEO of global online restaurant reservation leader EVEVE, announced today that Eveve has signed 10 exclusive new deals with Philadelphia restaurants. These include the critically acclaimed Fond, Mixto, Vesper, Karma, Barra, Bleu Martini, His and Hers, b-Side, Zento and Guild Hall.
“For 12 years, Philly’s restaurateurs faced one expensive monopoly supplier when it came to online reservations,” said Eveve’s Ryan. “For the first time there is a viable alternative, and this new choice clearly resonates amongst the restaurant community. Since launching in May, in just six weeks we have managed to pen 10 exclusive deals, the fastest we have ever achieved this minor milestone in a new market. We will match any supplier on diner volume, while providing peerless technology, but without the massive costs involved with some other solutions. Eveve does not charge per cover booked online, which marks a significant pricing differentiation,” added Ryan.
Why has Philadelphia been such a receptive market for Eveve? “Philly is a foodie city, with both a range and depth of quality independent restaurants which most cities could only dream of. It is also densely populated, growing and becoming more urban, which means dining out is common and space is at a premium. These two features drive significant reservation traffic. The problem for restaurants handling serious volume, is that a per-diner payment model is extremely challenging, particularly for independents. This is where Eveve comes in,” notes Ryan.
Eveve’s recent success in Philadelphia comes after proving its model in four prior markets. In Eveve’s initial test market, Minneapolis-St Paul, it has solidified its position as the leading supplier of online bookings in the city. In Houston, the Pacific Northwest and Denver, Eveve has emerged as the only challenger to OpenTable’s monopoly, capturing many of the elite accounts in those regions, such as Oxheart (Houston); Chambar (Vancouver) and Sushi Den (Denver).
“A recurring theme we keep hearing from our colleagues in the restaurant industry is the feeling of being trapped within OpenTable’s framework: it’s pricing structure is onerous— forcing restaurants to pay for their own diners who book online; while simultaneously exposing that very establishment’s diners to competitor destinations, via the network,” said Ryan.
“OpenTable hasn’t been either financially or technologically feasible for many of its Philadelphia clients for years but restaurant owners haven’t felt there was a viable alternative,” said Ryan. “Now that Philadelphia restaurant owners are getting the chance to become familiar with our much more affordable pricing model, our superior technology and the ability we give restaurant owners to regain control of their marketing destiny and customer relationships, we are exceeding the type of growth which has allowed us to become the principle challenger in the Twin Cities, Houston, Pacific Northwest and Denver,” added Ryan.
“There is a growing belief that Eveve is the way of the future for restaurants reservations and that the online reservation industry’s Goliath has finally met its David,” said Ryan. “We succeeded in toppling Goliath in Minneapolis/St. Paul and Houston and we feel we are on the verge of doing it right here in Philadelphia.”
“OpenTable deploys many of the same heavy-handed monopolistic pressure tactics that Ticketmaster has used for years in the entertainment industry and has become just as unpopular with restaurant owners as Ticketmaster is with entertainment venues across the country.” “When companies like OpenTable and Ticketmaster control this much of their marketplaces, they are able to manufacture restaurant and consumer consent. Eveve has given restaurants the first opportunity to finally tell OpenTable “No More”.
2015 looks set to be Eveve’s best year to date. The company is tracking 60% growth in online bookings and revenue year-on-year, from Q2 2014. Ryan adds “We have proven that we are the only true challenger to OpenTable in North America and we’re poised to continue this growth throughout Philadelphia, East Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We recently booked our six millionth online diner and are optimistic about the future.”
“Serving clients in 28 other states and two Canadian provinces we’ve emerged as OpenTable’s leading U.S. competitor and are particularly competitive when it comes to very busy or elite restaurants which typically have a greater depth of requirement,” said Ryan. Eveve is now the largest independently owned restaurant reservations supplier in the world.
For more information, contact:
Timothy Ryan
713-701-5383
