Many restaurants are closed. A situation that will not change in the foreseeable future. Operators must therefore take action to secure their own existence in times of crisis. An ordering or delivery service is an ideal option. With a new support package especially for restaurateurs, we want to work with other partners to help those affected to set up an online ordering system quickly and cost-effectively.
The actionWhile retailers can reopen in stages, restaurants are to remain closed. So what can restaurateurs do to generate revenue even during the lockdown? Online ordering systems that allow customers to order their favorite dishes quickly and easily from home are an efficient solution. However, setting up such a website, including an ordering function, presents many restaurant operators with challenges. Especially if there have been no or only a few points of contact with the Internet to date.
And this is exactly where the gastronomenhilfe project comes into play:
In a joint initiative between WawiHEROES, JTL, Themeart, Netzdinge and CMO, we are helping catering businesses to set up an online ordering system quickly and, above all, cost-effectively.
Alex Hausch, Managing Director of WawiHEROES, who launched the project together with his business partner Gregor Babrowski, reveals what exactly our joint offer of help entails and how you too can take part in the campaign.
Interview with co-initiator Alex Hausch
JTL: Hello Alex, thank you for your time. Why don’t you tell us how Gregor and you came up with the idea for a project like gastronomenhilfe?
Alex: Hello, of course, I’d love to! But to explain that, I have to tell you a bit about myself: I’m passionate about eating out and am therefore a regular customer at many restaurants. After the restaurants had to close, I wasn’t just interested in continuing to get delicious food. Gregor and I were particularly moved by the personal fates of the restaurateurs. My uncle is a restaurateur himself, so I also learned from my family what it means to fear for your own existence. We wanted to help.
JTL: That’s why you launched the gastronomenhilfe project. What specific services does the support package for restaurant operators include?
Alex: Under the project name gastronomenhilfe, we support restaurant operators in generating a new source of income: To do this, we – that’s our company WawiHEROES together with JTL, Themeart, Netzdinge and CMO – bring the menu of the restaurant businesses online on a dedicated page including an ordering system.
Specifically, we offer the following services:
JTL: This is a really comprehensive package. What does it cost?
Alex: As our focus is on providing help, we have calculated a price that only covers our expenses.Gastronomenhilfe costs € 199.00 once. After that, there are no hidden costs: once we have set up the system, it can be used for years – even after the crisis has passed.
JTL: What can restaurateurs who do not have their own web server do to host JTL-Shop?
Alex: If you don’t have your own web server to run JTL-Shop, you can book hosting incl. SSL certificate and DE domain for 1 year with our partner CMO. The whole thing costs €30.00 once as part of the promotion, so you can get the package for €229.00.
If you are not sure which of the two packages is right for you, we will be happy to advise you. Contact us by phone on 07022-7896075 or send us an email to support@gastronomenhilfe.de.
JTL: How did you get other companies on board with your project idea?
Alex: In order to be able to help restaurant operators as efficiently as possible, we wanted to offer expert services for the respective package components. We have been working with you from JTL as a service partner for over 10 years and we have also known the other project partners – Themeart, Netzdinge and CMO – for a long time. Everyone is a proven expert in their field.
As a user of the campaign, you can therefore be absolutely sure that the cooperation will work perfectly and that you will receive a tried and tested service.
JTL: Have the first online ordering systems already been set up? Please report!
Alex: Yes, our first project was my uncle’s restaurant: Mayers Waldhorn. He was the first restaurateur to use our ordering system in live operation and has since recorded around 60 visits per day. In contrast to telephone orders, the orders that come in via the new online system make his work much easier, as all the information is recorded in such a way that he can process it directly. And this is particularly important if the customer selects the delivery option, which we also provide.
When new dishes or weekly specials are added, my uncle can now quickly create them himself. The 30-minute training course included in the package provides the necessary knowledge.
JTL: That sounds great! Do you have a vision of how the project will continue after the crisis?
Alex: Absolutely! We would like restaurant operators to use the online ordering option as an additional source of income even after the shutdown. Because once you have set up the package, it runs without incurring any further costs.
However, we are already working on a version 2.0 of gastronomenhilfe to expand the system in a meaningful way, in which item setups can also be taken into account, i.e. something like “croquettes instead of fries” and so on.
JTL: Thank you for the interview, Alex. We are delighted to be part of this great aid project.
Are you also a restaurateur and would like to use the time of the lockdown to build up a new source of income? Then you can find all the information about gastronomenhilfe here and book the aid package right away:
