U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Students create online food ordering

System to benefit fellow classmates

By MANDY R. SIMON

It’s getting colder. The weather alone is enough to keep you huddled on the futon ordering gyros from the comfort of your dorm room. It’s no secret that there are hundreds of places from which to order food (even cigarettes and beer) on and around campus. Some may find the toughest part of the food-selection process is determining which restaurant to call. But then again, calling the restaurants, sitting on hold, asking about specials, “holding the mayo” and “no olives” all require more effort than a hungry college student really wants to put forth. Three OSU students have come together to create an online ordering system that eases placing food orders for delivery, and even benefits users with special discounts.

Justin Melnikoff Dan Healy and Andrew Spott of Sloopy Menus. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW SPOTT

By logging onto www.sloopymenus.com, students can view full menus and place food orders securely without ever having to deal with busy signals, long hold times, or using up cell phone minutes. Orders are processed by a fax server and the restaurant receives the order via fax machine.  The printed fax provides less of a margin for human error on special orders, and restaurant workers spend less time on the phone answering questions and taking orders, and more time preparing the food.

Justin Melnikoff, Andrew Spott, and Dan Healy, all OSU students enrolled in the Fisher College of Business are pursuing their degrees while cooperatively working to grow, promote and improve the web site.

SloopyMenus was created with the motto “by students, for students.” Andrew Spott explains, “as a result of being the online portal to food and entertainment, we are afforded the ability to negotiate for better deals [on food].” Exclusive online-only specials are available to students who utilize sloppymenus.com for their food orders.

Originally Published: November 16, 2005

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