Noshing
on the Net
By Carol Novis
Appeared in the Jerusalem Post City Lights Magazine, June
8, 2000
For someone
who doesn't touch meat, only eats kosher food, and admits that she doesn't
even dine out much at all, Debbie Lampert of Ra'anana knows an awful lot
about the food scene in Israel.
"Im
a computer, not a restaurants person," she says. But as a "virtual"
expert on kosher restaurants and wine in Israel, Debbie is the inspiration
behind the popular Internet site eLuna.com which lists and offers discounts
at some 150 kosher eating places in Israel.
eLuna
is certainly an idea whose time has come.
Anyone
who's ever searched for a good kosher restaurant outside Jerusalem knows
how difficult it is apart from hotels which serve kosher food, or Chinese,
steak and humous/tehina restaurants, good, sophisticated, kosher food is
hard to find. And even when kosher restaurants exist not everyone knows where
they are.
eLuna aims to fill the hole.
Debbie
came on aliya with her family from Silver Spring, Md., in 1977 and moved
first to Rehovot, then to Beer-Sheva and finally to Ra'anana. She has been
involved in high tech industries for the last 18 years, but it is only in
the last year that she struck out on her own with eLuna.
How did
she get the idea?
It struck
her, she explains, that the religious population was looking for reliable
information on good, suitable restaurant as well as on other products. That
information simply wasn't widely available.
'It seemed
to me that observant English-speaking people had certain marketing needs
that weren't being met and that provide a business opportunity. Observant
Anglo-Saxons are a niche market and a niche market is very attractive to
advertisers. Fr example, if you're selling kosher trips to Spain, then you
want to reach a particular market that's interested in kosher products. The
people who sign on with eLuna are prime member of that market."
For their
part, eLuna subscribers are provided with a service they can't get anywhere
else.
When Subscribers
sign on to eLuna, they are given access to information about 150 kosher restaurants
all around Israel. The information is reliable, because it's based on recommendations
from people who have actually eaten at each restaurants. It's also free.
"The
restaurants on our site are not just compilations, but places people actually
like. I could have just gone to the Rabbanut and got a list of kosher restaurants,
but I didn't do that because there would be no guarantee of quality."
Restaurants
don't advertise, but they all offer discounts (mostly 10% off the bill) to
subscribers.
"Here
and there I have had to compromise," says Debbie. "For example,
one Ra'anana restaurant has limited the hours they offer the discount because
of the large number of people asking for it. But by and large, restaurants
all do offer the 10% , because they're only listed on the site if they do,
and they realize it's worth it. Clients come to listed restaurants and they
bring their friends. It brings in a lot of business. Even hole-in-the-wall
places get visibility."
If a restaurant
fails to offer the discount, then Debbie will check it out and try to ensure
the client is recompensed.
"It
sometimes happens that a waiter will be new and may not have heard about
the discount. In that case, I'll call the restaurant and see that something
is done about it.
Clients
are often so pleased that they e-mail with enthusiastic comments. One satisfied
customer sent information on us to 300 friends!"
The decision
not to charge restaurants for a listing on the site was deliberate. "My
aim was to provide the best possible content. If you want the best content,
then you can't limit the restaurants to advertisers. You need a big client
base to attract other kinds of advertising. I estimate that we need a client
base of 5,000 to expand our advertising. We haven't reached that yet, but
the site has only been up 11 months."
Advertisers
don't include listed restaurants, but they do include travel agents publicizing
kosher tours and cruises, wine and books. Debbie sees plenty of future potential
for advertising geared to the observant market, though she admits that the
site still has to make a profit.
"First
fame then fortune," she says cheerfully. "We are now hoping to
attract other investors."
What she
has discovered is that there are a lot of kosher restaurants out there that
people haven't heard about.
"How
may times have people told me that there are no kosher places in Tel-Aviv.
Well there are 25 on my site. There are 12 in Ra'anana alone.
Most popular
restaurants? She sites Magdiel Haktana in Hod Hasharon and Brown's in Ra'anana.
As well
as providing information on kosher restaurants, Debbie also has another aim:
to contribute to Israel.
"If
eLuna helps bring people to Israel or boosts business for local restaurants,
then I'll be happy."
Name:
Debbie Lampert
Business: eLuna.com Internet site
Five years ago: Working in the computer industry.
Five years from now: I hope to expand eLuna, go international and attract
investors. I also hope to become a pressure group and improve quality.
If people come to Israel because they're enticed by culinary possibilities,
then I feel I've done something important with my life.
Philosophy: "You have to make a decision and stick
with it. You have to persevere. It is not so much the idea that counts
as the tenacity and push to make it succeed that counts."
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