During this period, MenuMania ranked No. 1 based on market share of visits among all New Zealand websites in the Hitwise Food and Beverage – Restaurants and Catering industry.

MenuMania would like to thank all of you:  members, diners, and eateries who have supported us and contributed to MenuMania over the last four years!

The Hitwise Number 1 Award recognises websites from over 140 industries that are leaders in their industry and brings with it the benefit of using the Hitwise Number 1 Award shield.

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Features:

Simple yet flexible search – You can search for a keyword (e.g. ‘Sushi’) a cuisine (e.g. ‘Italian’), a restaurant name or, for a broad search, just specify a location.

Near me – Discover places to eat near you (useful if you don’t know the area). Works best with iPhone 3G/S. Drag the search radius slider up or down to find places within walking or driving distance using iPhone’s integrated GPS.

Reviews & Ratings – MenuMania has thousands of user submitted reviews that you can check before you make a reservation. You can submit your own reviews at www.menumania.co.nz

Photos – A feast for the eyes: Many listings include photos of available culinary delights and the venue. Flick through the slideshow photos to build up an appetite.

Maps – Just tap the address of the restaurant to see a map with the restaurant location marked with a pin. One-tap button also provided to launch Maps application for driving directions.

Restaurant info – The MenuMania iPhone app displays a list of features and details for the venues (e.g. wheelchair access, outdoor dining, price range, opening hours, parking details, payment methods and more).

Aunt Daisy’s Boathouse, New Orleans Dinner Club, and Calypso Cafe have all closed in the Wellington region recently.  A lot of other places are limiting hours and shutting their doors for parts of the week.

“Bottom end” eating establishment that would once have been able to trade through rough times and then sell up, are being forced to shut down because there are no buyers, according to Mr Robertson.  He also says that “Part of the closures have been the result of unrealistic rents.”  Landlords are raising rents because they feel pressured to make properties look valuable to prospective investors.

During winter, people have a tendency to stay at home when it’s cold.  The cold snap came early this year so restaurateurs have to find ways to entice people out of their cosy homes, he said. “A lot of people think they should be conservative, when they can afford not to be.   It’s a matter of giving them an incentive.”

The owner of Auckland’s Horse and Trap Restaurant, Warren Stewart, said reward systems were now quite standard along with specials & events to keep the regulars returning.  “It’s now a buyers’ market in the hospitality industry. If people shop around, they’ll see good benefits.”

Suburban restaurants are now picking up according to Mr Stewart, and that was gradually flowing-on into the “party areas”, however most businesses were already “doing things smarter”.

On average, the worldwide restaurant industry average for restaurant turnover, is twenty months, according to Mike Egan, the well respected Wellington restaurateur and Restaurant Association President.   He pointed out that while there may be an increase in closures, those restaurants and venues leave behind them fixed equipment and furniture, making them easy pickings for new business entrepreneurs.  Egan thought it likely that new entrants would be of better calibre due to more stringent scrutiny on the part of banks and suppliers lending credit.

“It’s a good thing. When times become good again, I hope we are running our businesses with the same leanness and strategies, so we’ll keep doing it.”

Source: The Dominion Post22/7/09

The mobile-friendly site, m.menumania.co.nz allows you to find relevant, local information on the go on eating establishments around New Zealand to help you make an informed decession on where to eat.

To access the mobile site, simply type m.menumania.co.nz into your handset browser and off you go.

“Public Commenting” is free for all local restaurants. To get started a restaurant owner needs to go to “MenuMania for Restaurant Owners” to claim their page. Restaurant Owners can get more information on best practices in our Restaurant Owner’s Guide.