New Mexico Internet Technology Company Creates a COVID-19 Solution for Eateries Impacted by Mandatory Restrictions
For Release: April 6, 2020
Contact: Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group 505.898.8689 x201
Joe Wellborn, Restaurant Lifeboat 505.715.3694
ALBUQUERQUE — Local Internet entrepreneurs, Karim Ardalan and Joe Wellborn, announced Restaurant Lifeboat, a new free service aimed at helping restaurants that are struggling to serve customers amid COVID-19 restrictions.
“Last month's shelter-in-place order by the governor restricted restaurants to carry-out and delivery only,” said Ardalan, “and we knew it would be a struggle for New Mexico restaurants to shift to computer or phone-based ordering. We tried getting food from some of our favorite restaurants and discovered that most did not offer an easy way to place online orders. We knew this was going to be a big problem for them, and we wanted to help.”
The pair of web developers, who own and operate an ecommerce solution for small business, called Add On Commerce, immediately saw the potential to leverage their current platform to provide a timely assist for restaurants.
According to Wellborn, “It’s crazy that in order to stay afloat, restaurants have to transform the way they do business literally overnight. And since our ecommerce platform was designed to be the fastest and easiest way to add ecommerce for small businesses, we knew we could provide a lifeline to struggling restaurants. That’s how Restaurant Lifeboat was born.”
Determined to develop a solution that could provide assistance rapidly, the team began a marathon effort to retool their current offering with features tailored for cafes, restaurants, and food trucks.
“We’ve been building websites for decades, and we called on some of our restaurant clients to get their critical input as we created a solution that meets their unique needs,” Ardalan explained.
The developers established a few key guiding principles: 1) Launch it fast to provide help quickly. 2) Program it be something “Do it Yourselfers” can manage. 3) Provide optional setup services for those who want it. 4) Make it affordable.
Wellborn elaborated, “I think we accomplished everything we set out to do, especially the affordable requirement, because we decided to make it free.”
The platform is being offered for free now through the end of 2020 for restaurants who sign up by April 30. “If we can help restaurants survive the year, then we hope to keep them onboard as paying customers next year,” Ardalan pointed out. “And even if they don’t, we’ll all enjoy more carry-out for now!”
More information is available at www.restaurantlifeboat.com.
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