Small, independent restaurateurs now have a means of letting their customers easily place orders through their websites.
With the Wix acquisition of OpenRest finalized, the website development platform plans to offer the online payment option as part of its overall service. Restaurant owners who built their company sites with Wix will be able to implement OpenRest as an add-on app.
OpenRest integration with Wix will give restaurant owners a complete business solution. That solution will include menu and order management, mobile app development, and payment processing through an online platform linked to a restaurant’s website.
In an official release announcing the acquisition, OpenRest co-founders Danny Leshem and Yoav Amit expressed their excitement about offering their product to millions of current Wix users explaining:
“With Wix and OpenRest, restaurateurs will have a technologically advanced and cost effective solution to better manage their business and their customers’ experience.
We launched OpenRest four years ago with the goal of helping restaurant owners and operators streamline their businesses and tap into the opportunities presented by the Internet. By joining a market leader like Wix, we will be able to exceed this goal and take our technology so much further.”
The move by Wix is part of a company strategy to identify and address the needs of “industry-specific verticals” and expand the suite of products it offers its customers, according to a statement from Wix.
In addition to website creation, Wix also allows small business owners to build their own profiles and manage various aspects of their businesses with specialized apps and products. Wix says it has 55 million users worldwide.
The plan is for Wix and OpenRest to develop and introduce a full online business solution tool for restaurant owners by 2015.
In the release, Wix co-founder and CEO Avishai Avrahami added:
“OpenRest perfectly complements our strategy to further enhance the Wix platform with tailored industry-specific solutions. There’s no industry more deserving of this focused attention than the restaurant industry.”
Tablet Photo via Shutterstock
Aira Bongco
I wish there is something like this for restaurants in other countries. This will make it easier for you to find restaurants especially when you’re traveling.
Great acquisition because I still find good, established restaurants without a web presence. This is one more add-on that could get them to finally pull the trigger.