kdka.com – May 2, 2003

Dining Deals A Click Away

Eating out can be expensive, but some customers are finding they can save big on their surf'n turf by surfing the web.

Before you wait in line at your favorite restaurant, you may want to go online to search for dining deals that could cut your bill in half.

With so many new chains coming to the area, restaurants are fighting for business -- and they're looking for new ways to find new diners.

One way some restaurants are marketing their meals is via the Internet.

A website called Restaurant.com lets customers choose a restaurant in the town of their choice -- then click their way to a gift certificate at half the face value. In Pittsburgh, that could mean a $10 meal at the Smithfield Cafe for just $5 -- or $100 worth of catering at the Bradley House in Baldwin for $50.

The owner of Tivoli's Restaurant in Penn Hills says these online deals help keep them alive.

"It brings me people that have never been here -- wouldn't come here otherwise -- from all over the city. We're in the east -- we're not downtown, so they are not going travel here for no reason at all just to come here -- they never heard of us; so they say, 'This is a good deal, let's go try it.'" -- Joseph Ditullio, Owner of Tivoli's

Customers Brett Martin and Rod Wiederstein agree. "We travel now for a good meal," Martin adds, "we'd be more than willing to travel for a discounted meal." Likewise, Wiederstein adds, "I would like to go to different places -- especially at a cheaper value."

In return for the savings, Tivoli's gets new customers and a free website from Restaurant.com which shows off the restaurant and its menu.

For customers, it's a money-saving deal -- and sometimes a real steal. In fact, eBay has even been auctioning off gift certificates from Restaurants.com for as little as $1.

With prices like that -- it doesn't pay to stay home!