Press

March 11th, 2014

“Goliath has finally met its David, as Eveve now Manages 20,000 Online Diners per Month in Houston”

Timothy Ryan, CEO and President of global online restaurant reservation leader EVEVE, announced today that they have inked ten new exclusive deals with some of Houston´s top chef driven restaurants including critically acclaimed Haven and Cove Cold Bar; Kata Robata, the city´s second most booked Japanese restaurant; Fresh Fish, voted no.1 restaurant in 2013 by the Houston Chronicle; Mockingbird; Soma Sushi; Osteria Mazzantini and the three Azuma restaurants.

Eveve now have relationships with five of the top ten most booked independently owned Houston restaurants. The new restaurants join early adopters Benjy´s (Washington and Rice Village), Peli Peli, Tony Mandola´s and Latin Bites. The two Benjy´s restaurants are comfortably amongst the city´s top 10 most booked independent restaurants, while Peli Peli is the area´s most booked independent outside of the 610 Loop.

Eveve now facilitates over 20,000 online diners per month in the greater Houston area, 12% of the 165,000 total online diners per month in the region. Eveve´s new client restaurants are typically the busier and most successful restaurants, which means the upstart averages 1,380 online diners per month in Houston per restaurant, almost triple that of its rival.

“We´re succeeding in Houston for the same reasons we´ve become the majority supplier of online reservations in Minneapolis/St. Paul and for the same reasons we´ve gained significant market share in other markets around the country – we provide industry leading technology, and first class locally based support, but without the extortionate fees” said Eveve´s Ryan. Several of Eveve´s Houston clients are paying just 15% of their previous fees.

“Opentable hasn´t been either financially or technologically feasible for many of its Houston clients for some time, but restaurant owners haven´t felt there was a viable alternative,” said Ryan. “Now that Houston restaurant owners are getting the chance to become familiar with our much more affordable pricing model; our superior technology; and the ability we give restaurant owners to regain control of their marketing destiny and customer relationships, we are beginning to see the same type of growth that has allowed us to become the majority supplier of online bookings in the Twin Cities” added Ryan.

“There is a growing belief that Eveve is the way of the future for restaurants reservations and that the online reservation industry´s Goliath has finally met its David, said Ryan.” “We succeeded in toppling Goliath in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and that city benefits from having the only meaningfully competitive landscape in North America, in this industry. We feel we are on the verge of emulating that here in Houston, which is great news for the local restaurant community.”

A leading supplier of reservations in Europe and Australasia, Eveve first entered the US market 30 months ago. “2013 was a record year for us,” said Ryan. “We booked our three millionth all time diner in November, our total bookings grew by 70% and our revenues grew by 60%.” “Serving clients in 22 states and two Canadian provinces we´ve emerged as Opentable´s leading U.S. competitor and are particularly competitive when it comes to very busy or elite restaurants which typically have a greater depth of requirement,” said Ryan. Eveve is now the largest independently owned restaurant reservations supplier in the world, with operations in 11 countries.

November 7, 2013

Weary of paying unnecessary “middleman” fees, top Houston restaurants take back their reservation system from Opentable and switch to its leading North American competitor, Eveve.

Houston, TX and Minneapolis, MN: Timothy Ryan, CEO of global online reservation leader Eveve, announced today that six of Houston´s top restaurants, including four of the top 10 independents (by online reservations) have switched booking system to Eveve. Those in the top 10 include Tony Mandola´s, Benjy´s (both Washington and Rice Village) and Peli Peli. “The state of Texas economic development slogan is ‘We´re Wide Open for Business´ and we´re delighted that so many of Houston´s most successful restaurants have made us feel at home in the largest city in the Lone Star state,” said Ryan.

“We are in the midst of another year of record growth in North America and are thrilled to celebrate this growth by announcing our arrival into America´s fifth largest market and one of its great restaurant cities,” said Ryan. “Each of these critically acclaimed restaurants did extensive research to identify a solution which will allow them to serve their customer´s reservation needs more effectively and affordably than ever and we are honored that they have selected EVEVE as their partner to accomplish this goal”, said Eveve´s Ryan.

“Our business has experienced explosive growth in 2013 we´ve now emerged as Opentable´s leading North American challenger and we´re poised to continue this growth in Texas,” said Ryan. Eveve´s expansion into Texas comes on the heels of news in June that it became the majority supplier of online reservations in Minneapolis-St Paul, the first major metro where Opentable lost its majority market position.

“Like Minnesota in 2011, Houston restaurateurs are faced with one expensive monopoly supplier,” said Ryan. “We are bringing much needed competition to the field, which is good news for prices, and for restaurateurs. We´ve captured more than 50% of the online reservations in Minneapolis/St. Paul and we see no reason why this can´t be done in Houston and throughout Texas as well.” Due to the size of these new restaurants, Eveve is now managing about 12,000 online diners per month in Houston, or just over 7% of the estimated 170,000 per month total for the Greater Metro Area. Ryan notes “So far, Houston has been even more receptive than Minneapolis. Our existing forward orders alone should take us close to 20,000 per month within a few weeks.”

Eveve´s system allows the restaurant to maintain control of its brand. “Opentable´s marketing tactics have become particularly frustrating for its busier clients,” said Ryan. “These large restaurants have realized that restaurants which have been paying Opentable the most are the very ones which need them the least. They have questioned why the fees they pay to Opentable are being used to help build a network which promotes other restaurants to their loyal customers,” added Ryan. “Can you think of another business that rewards its customers for purchasing a competitor´s product?”

Peli Peli, Houston´s only South African restaurant, was the second most reviewed establishment on Opentable in the Greater Metro Area, with a colossal 511 reviews (July 1st 2013). Co-owner Thomas Nguyen, explains “As a high volume, reservation driven restaurant, we needed a serious booking system to manage our tables. The problem was that with Opentable we paid $1 per person when our diners booked through their network. As a monopoly, there was no alternative–we were very frustrated.” As a restaurant which can exceed 3,000 online diners per month, Peli Peli´s fees were eye watering.

Nguyen adds “A few of the other major restaurants in town had moved to Eveve already, and I was curious to have a look. The software was very competitive, and coupled with the substantial cost savings and the powerful marketing capabilities of Eveve, it was a no-brainer. It was easy to learn and I really believe our customers will feel it´s more user friendly”.

Might this be the beginning of an exodus in Houston´s restaurant marketplace? “The minute these leading restaurants switched, we were deluged with inquiries,” said Ryan. “Margins are shrinking; people have told us they´ve been looking for a solid alternative for a long time.”

29th June 2013

The Twin Cities is the battleground for the first serious fight between industry leader OpenTable and upstart Eveve, two online restaurant booking systems.

Scooch over, OpenTable, another party wants a seat in your booth.

A Scottish upstart that picked the Twin Cities as its first U.S. market is now generating more reservations for local restaurants than the industry leader, which held a virtual monopoly here just two years ago.

The new arrival, Eveve, has found a significant niche for a more-basic service that costs restaurants less – more sit-down diner than white-tablecloth experience.

“People can go to OpenTable´s website to find out about cool places to eat, see a poll about the 100 best bars and restaurants in the country and read or post restaurant reviews,” said Dan McElroy, executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association. “Eveve doesn´t offer that, but restaurants aren´t paying for it, either.”

Known only to restaurant insiders, Eveve has been steadily feeding on a banquet of some of the Twin Cities´ top restaurants. Hell´s Kitchen, Bar La Grassa, Burch, Smack Shack, Zelo, Bacio, Vincent, and Axel´s Bonfire have all transferred their business.

CEO Timothy Ryan said Eveve now handles 51.7 percent of Twin Cities reservations, because it works with some of the busiest restaurants.

Restaurant owners say Eveve´s fees can run 50 to 90 percent below those of OpenTable, which still does business with more than twice as many local eateries as does Eveve. The Scottish firm´s utilitarian, basic reservations system operates only through a restaurant´s website, not its own, and doesn´t attempt to create a community for guests the way OpenTable does.

OpenTable says this matters to many restaurants that rely on it as a marketing tool to draw customers.

“Restaurants benefit from our mobile website, access to more than 12 million customers in the OpenTable diner network, and marketing support on everything from Mother´s Day to Mpls.St.Paul magazine´s Restaurant Week,” said Tiffany Fox, senior director of corporate communications for OpenTable.

Analysts say what made the Twin Cities´ reservations market ripe for change is a wired population that makes an above-average number of online bookings, a lot of chef-driven independent restaurants and, especially, a sensitivity to high prices.

“This is definitely a market for a lower-priced online reservation booking system,” said Michael Olson, a technology analyst at Piper Jaffray Co. “Some restaurants just wanted an easy way for customers to make reservations without all the marketing.”

That´s the hook that attracted the attention of Desta Klein, co-owner of Meritage restaurant in St. Paul. In 2011, she started getting cold calls asking, “Are you sick of paying high reservation fees?”

“Believe me, I was,” said Klein, who became the first Twin Cities client for Eveve, which bases its North American operations in Minneapolis. With her restaurant operating on a wafer-thin margin, like any restaurant, she scrutinizes every expense.

Klein was paying Open–Table $1,200 to $1,500 per month in fees. “That might not sound like a lot of money,” she said. “But to an independent restaurant, it´s huge.”

Unlike Eveve, which charges flat monthly fees in a tiered system, OpenTable charges reservation fees of $1 per guest, meaning that busy restaurants pay more. It gets an average of $635 per month per restaurant, according to the company.

Reservations made through a restaurant´s website still go through OpenTable, although the restaurant is charged less – 25 cents per guest. OpenTable also charges set-up fees from $200 to $700, and a monthly $199 subscription fee.

Klein felt that OpenTable´s pricing structure punished her for having a busy restaurant. After she switched to Eveve´s flat fees, her monthly bill sank from nearly $2,000 a month to $400. “We saved nearly 80 percent,” she said.

The savings were even more substantial at Hell´s Kitchen in Minneapolis, which also switched to Eveve in 2011. With about 65,000 breakfast, lunch and dinner reservations in 2012 and 40 percent of them booked online, the restaurant paid about $3,000 to Eveve, said co-owner Cynthia Gerdes.

Several years ago, her annual bill with OpenTable was about $32,000. “It´s stunning,” Gerdes said. “We saved 90 percent with Eveve.”

Still, OpenTable remains a formidable competitor. Top restaurants such as Parasole, D´Amico, Butcher & the Boar, Wildfire, Ciao Bella, and Murray´s remain with OpenTable.

And not all restaurants have been pleased with Eveve. Some openly missed Open–Table´s marketing after they left. J.D. Hoyt´s in Minneapolis switched back to OpenTable in January, even though Eveve trimmed the monthly reservation bill from $1,200 to $280.

“Eveve is only a reservation system without any promotional bells and whistles,” said Pat Montague, J.D. Hoyt´s owner. “We´re one of many steakhouse choices on Open–Table, so the ads help. It costs me a bundle, but people use it.”

Hoyt´s is one of 17 restaurants that have gone back to OpenTable, including Rock Bottom, Gianni´s, Al Vento, Rinata, W.A. Frost and Sunsets.

Ryan attributes most of the 17 losses to technical teething issues when Eveve took on a lot of new business in its debut. His loss rate is lower since then, he said.

Some restaurateurs who made the switch worried that moving from a highly regarded name to an unbranded, no-frills plan would mean a drop in reservations or business. Open–Table sends out promotional e-mail newsletters, offers reward points at participating restaurants, and posts a lot of free and paid advertisements on its site to attract diners.

Eveve offers none of that and isn´t even branded on a restaurant´s site. But hardly any restaurants saw a drop in reservations after switching to Eveve´s advertising-free system, according to Eveve.

Jodi Schoenauer, director of sales and marketing for nine Axel´s and Bonfire restaurants, thinks their business held up largely because they are in the suburbs and rely mostly on locals who know the restaurant, not out-of-towners who are choosing based on Open–Table´s reviews, online ads and other marketing efforts.

For restaurants in concentrated downtown areas, Eveve exploits the fact that Open–Table´s promotions can sometimes work against a restaurant. If a customer can´t get in at Butcher & the Boar in Minneapolis at 7 on a Saturday night, for example, it redirects them to places nearby that have a 7 p.m. opening, such as Buca di Bepo or Solera.

“We didn´t want our guests to be shown that there are openings at a competing restaurant,” said Hell´s Kitchen´s Gerdes, “or that they can get an extra 1,000 reward points if they dine across the street.”

Article by: John Ewoldt , Star Tribune

15th May 2013

The Twin Cities become the first major market where Opentable handles the minority of online reservations. 9 of the top 10 busiest MN independents now choose Eveve.

Eveve announced today that it is now the majority supplier of online restaurant reservations in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area with 51.7% share. Minnesota´s principal conurbation becomes the first and only of America´s top 50 metropolitan areas, by population, where Opentable is now the minority supplier in terms of total online reservations managed.

Eveve´s reservation share spiked sharply from December 2012, when Axels, one of Minnesota´s largest independently owned restaurant groups, switched all of its reservations to Eveve, bringing the share to 43% with 60,000 per month. “This provided a second surge of interest in our solution” notes Timothy Ryan, CEO, which he attributes to the latest swathe of new high profile restaurants switching.

In the past few weeks eight of Minnesota´s top restaurants have switched reservation suppliers to Eveve. The Burch and Smack Shack launched spectacularly, both going straight in to the Twin Cities´ top five by online diners. Meanwhile in the past fortnight, five more leading restaurants have left Opentable in favour of Eveve solution, including Icehouse, Andiamo, Tiger Sushi, Aji and Happy Gnome. In recent news, 112 Eatery, considered one of Minnesota´s top dining locations, has also given the nod, moving from a non-electronic platform.

Ryan points out “In terms of reservation volume, the shift is even more pronounced, because of the scale of these restaurants. Burch is the third most booked independent restaurant in Minnesota, and Smack Shack is fourth–both manage over 3,500 online diners per month. All in all, just seven restaurants generate 12,000 diners per month, bringing our total to 72,000.”

When Eveve entered the market in July 2011, it estimated there to be 116,000 online diners per month in the Twin Cities, then a 100% monopoly (figures based on Opentable 2011 metrics).

The market has grown since, with Ryan pointing out “with our experience across America and internationally, plus the metrics we have recorded with our own clients, we believe the Minneapolis-St Paul market to have grown by 18-20% since then, to as much as 139,200” he adds “in fact, given the severe weather in Minnesota this year, 139,200 is perhaps bullish for the Twin Cities”.

“At 72,000 per month, we believe we are now managing around 51.7% of online diners here in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which is really a landmark for the Upper Midwest, and for America generally. This is the first major metro which is free of monopoly control, and more importantly, monopoly dictated price gouging”.

MINNESOTA´S MOST BOOKED INDEPENDENT RESTAURANTS:

1. Hell´s Kitchen (Eveve)
2. Bar La Grassa (Eveve)
3. Burch (Eveve)
4. Smack Shack (Eveve)
5. Butcher and Boar (Opentable)
6. Zelo (Eveve)
7. Meritage (Eveve)
8. Bacio (Eveve)
9. Cafe Maude (Eveve)
10. Vincent A (Eveve)

Seven of the top ten are ex-Opentable. Eveve remains equally focused on its existing clients, and Ryan concludes that “Meritage and Hell´s Kitchen are coming up for two years with Eveve now. As two of America´s most booked restaurants, the longevity illustrates that this is a serious solution for discerning restaurants. We are extremely grateful to our clients in MN, who have been especially supportive”.

February 19, 2013

Five Leading Chicagoland Restaurants Leave Opentable to join tech-savvy EVEVE

Timothy Ryan, CEO and President, announced today that five leading Chicagoland restaurants, including the acclaimed De Cero Taqueria, switched their table management software supplier to EVEVE.

“We experienced record growth throughout North America in 2012 and are thrilled to begin the New Year by announcing our arrival into one of the world´s great restaurants cities,” said Ryan. “Restaurants throughout North America are embracing our technology and its ability to deliver a more exceptional dining experience to their customers while improving their restaurant´s profitability.”

Ryan announced that five leading Chicago area restaurants are partnering with its cloud-based reservation system. These restaurants include Randolph Street´s De Cero Taqueria, Oak Park´s Maya Del Sol, Northbrook´s The Claim Company, Lake Zurich´s Beelow Steakhouse and Naperville´s Zapatista.

“Each of these critically acclaimed restaurants did extensive research to identify a reservation solution that allows them to serve their customer´s reservation needs more effectively and affordably than ever. We are honored that they have selected EVEVE as their partner to accomplish these goals,” said Ryan.

EVEVE´s new focus on Chicago is complemented with general expansion into a total of 17 states, with new clients in January from states as diverse as Vermont or Florida. Ryan adds “The majority of our expansion outside the Midwest has been down to inbound leads. It seems there is a big appetite throughout the US for our solution. We can provide local installation and professional support to restaurants anywhere in America. Our 140 North American clients cover every region, and 17 states, and that number is growing steadily each month”.

EVEVE´s total online diners, the primary barometer of industry health, grew 120% in 2012, and the company currently handles around 3 million diners per year spread across its North American, European and Australasian markets.

“While we have more restaurants in Europe and Australasia, our North American restaurants are typically very large and extremely busy–the average number of online diners per month is 970–so the region punches above its weight. Eveve´s figure is well above North American industry averages. “This reflects the type of client which chooses Eveve. Our USP is industry standard technology without the per cover fee. This attracts serious restaurants which find the per-cover model punitive. For busy independent restaurants, the Eveve value proposition is very compelling. That is why 70% of the Minnesotan restaurants in this category, now choose Eveve.”

The argument for the top independents in Chicago is just as compelling, if not even more so–given their even higher fees. “If anything, the Chicago market has been much easier to crack into than Minneapolis” explains Ryan, “Five big independents is the point where critical mass is acquired, the expansion acquires its own momentum thereafter. It took about 10 weeks to achieve five in Minneapolis, but less than half that time in Chicago.”

In these tough economic times, there is a real appetite from restaurants to keep costs under control. When restaurants find out they can shave 70% off their fees, for a comparable product and number of reservations, many feel this is one of the easiest ways to improve their bottom line. Ryan concludes, “There are probably 200-300 restaurants in Chicago which could save at least $1,000 a month with Eveve. How many will continue to absorb those super-fees, when an increasing number of their competitors shed that burden?”

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

December 13, 2012

Bonfire Restaurant Company owns and operates six Axel´s Bonfire Restaurants and three Axel´s Restaurants in the Twin Cities Metro area and Mankato, MN.

15 more leading Twin Cities restaurants join Eveve in Minnesota. EVEVE now processes more than 40% of all Twin Cities online reservations.

Tim Ryan, CEO and President of EVEVE, announced today that Bonfire Restaurant Company, one of Minnesota´s largest independently owned hospitality companies, switched all of its table service restaurants to global restaurant reservation leader EVEVE. “This is a landmark day for EVEVE”, said Ryan. “Bonfire Restaurant Company is one of the most respected hospitality companies in America and we are thrilled that have selected us to handle all of its online reservations.” “Bonfire Restaurant Company did extensive research to identify a resolution solution that will allow them to serve their customer´s reservation needs more effectively than ever and we are honored that they have selected EVEVE as their partner to accomplish this goal,” said Ryan.

“Since 1996 the Axel´s and Axel´s Bonfire restaurants are proud to provide our guests excellent food, outstanding service and memorable experiences. Everything we do, we do with the best interests of our guests in mind” said Jodi Schoenauer, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bonfire Restaurant Company.

“Our vendor selections are based on what is best suited to the needs of our guests and restaurants. We engaged in extensive due diligence into the future of online restaurant reservations. We determined that to best service our volume of loyal and new guests, support our expansion plans and provide overall best practices, EVEVE was the correct fit for our organization. We are very pleased with EVEVE´s level of customer service and their uniquely affordable pricing model”.

Ryan also announced that a total of 15 additional leading Twin Cities restaurants are partnering with its cloud-based reservation system. These restaurants include all nine of Axel´s restaurants, the new Ike´s in Minnetonka, Café Maude Loring, the new Burch, Monte Carlo, Rachel´s and the Butcher Block and will result in EVEVE processing more than 40% of online restaurant bookings in the Twin Cities. Minnesota has now become the first state in the country where Opentable has fewer restaurants than they did in July 2011.

EVEVE´s system will also allow these restaurants to maintain control of its brand. “Opentable´s marketing tactics have become particularly frustrating for its busier clients,” said Ryan. “These large restaurants have realized that restaurants who have been paying Opentable the most are the very ones who need them the least,” “They have realized that the fees they´ve been paying Opentable are being used to help promote other restaurants to their loyal customers,” added Ryan. “Can you think of another business that rewards its customers for purchasing a competitor´s product, said Ryan?” “Can you imagine Apple rewarding someone for purchasing a Nokia phone?”

EVEVE has been Opentable´s leading competitor in Europe but only first entered the US market 17 months ago. EVEVE has now expanded its US presence to 11 states and two provinces in Canada and has emerged as Opentable´s leading North American competitor. “Our business has experienced rapid growth in 2012,” said EVEVE CEO Timothy Ryan. “Our number of online reservations has doubled since 2011 and quadruped since 2010 and we are thrilled that 15 more of the most-booked independent restaurants in the Twin Cities have decided to join the EVEVE family as we head into 2013.”

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

November 19th 2012

Critically acclaimed Em Chamas Brazilian Grill becomes the first Kansas City restaurant to move its online bookings from Opentable to EVEVE.

Kansas City, MO: EVEVE, a leading global provider of online reservations, announced today that Kansas City´s Em Chamas Brazilian Grill has joined the growing list of leading North American restaurants that have left Opentable and Urbanspoon for EVEVE´s more affordable system. Em Chamas is a traditional Brazilian grill (Churrascaria) featuring traditional Brazilian Churrasco from the Pampas region of Southern Brazil and is one of Kansas City´s three busiest independent restaurants based on the number of online reservations.

EVEVE has been Opentable´s leading competitor in Europe but only first entered the US market 15 months ago. EVEVE has now expanded its US presence to 11 states and two provinces in Canada and has emerged as Opentable´s leading North American competitor. “Our business has experienced rapid growth in 2012,” said EVEVE CEO Timothy Ryan. “Our number of online reservations has doubled since 2011 and quadruped since 2010 and we are thrilled that one of Open Table´s three most booked independent restaurants in Kansas City has decided to join the EVEVE family as we head into 2013.”

“The co-owners of Em Chamas, Nick and Sam Silvio, did extensive research to identify a reservation solution that would allow them to deliver the Em Chamas experience to their customers,” said Ryan. EVEVE´s system will also allow Em Chamas to maintain control of its brand. “Opentable´s marketing tactics have become particularly frustrating for its busier clients,” said Ryan. “These large restaurants have realized that restaurants who have been paying Opentable the most are the very ones who need them the least,” “They have realized that the fees they´ve been paying Opentable are being used to help promote other restaurants to their loyal customers,” added Ryan. “Can you think of another business that rewards its customers for purchasing a competitor´s product, said Ryan?” “Can you imagine Apple rewarding someone for purchasing a Nokia phone?”

EVEVE´s decision to enter the Kansas City market comes after surpassing expectations in their initial US market in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. “We´ve captured more than 40% of the online bookings at all Twin Cities independently owned restaurants validating industry research that shows a huge market of restaurants have been waiting for an affordable alternative,” said Ryan.

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global provider of live reservations systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

September 5, 2012

Open Table´s leading competitor extends its US presence to Denver and the Rocky Mountains.

Minneapolis, MN and Denver, CO –Timothy Ryan, President of EVEVE´s North American operations, announced today that it has expanded its United States presence to Denver –one of America´s most important restaurant reservation markets –by partnering with critically-acclaimed restaurant Axios Estiatorio. “We are very honored and excited to be able to establish our initial presence in Denver and in Colorado by announcing our partnership with such an amazing restaurant,” said Ryan. “Denver is one of the most diverse and progressive restaurant cities in America and we are excited about the potential to work with restaurants in the city, and throughout the State of Colorado in the weeks and months ahead,” said Ryan. Axios was awarded Denver´s Best Greek Restaurant in 2012 by the Denver Westwood, and ranks amongst Colorado´s best in online reviews, with a 4.5 on Yelp, 93% on Urbanspoon and 26/30 on Google.

EVEVE announced its expansion into Denver, building on its presence in 11 other states and two provinces in Canada, after surpassing expectations in their initial U.S. test market of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Entering the U.S. market just 12 months ago, almost 100 restaurants have signed up for Eveve in North America, with just over half in Minnesota. The impact has been most profound amongst busy independent restaurants, especially in Minneapolis-St. Paul. 11 of the America´s busiest 125 independents have now switched to Eveve; and in Minnesota a staggering seven of the top 10. With more than one million diners processed per annum, Eveve is the number two supplier by booking volume in the USA and has emerged as Open Table´s principal American competitor.

“In this field, we think the Denver market shares a great deal in common with Minneapolis in 2011 [before Eveve's entry], and its independent restaurants should benefit just as much as their Minnesotan counterparts”. Colorado and Minnesota have similar total populations, both centered around a large Metro area. Moreover, both states are comparatively wealthy and Denver and Minneapolis have thriving and sophisticated restaurant scenes.

Finally both Denver and Minneapolis have an exceptionally high penetration of online reservations for restaurants. This is exhibited in a disproportionately large number of restaurants taking live reservations, higher online bookings per diner per annum, and a higher percentage of total diners coming from online (versus walk in or telephone). Ryan adds that “Both cities´ online reservation markets are significantly more developed than larger or comparable cities such as Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Kansas City or Cleveland.”

Like Minnesota in 2011, Coloradan restaurateurs are faced with one expensive monopoly supplier. Now Eveve brings some much needed competition to the field, which is good news for prices, and for restaurateurs. Ryan adds “We captured 39% of all online reservations in Minnesota. With all our clients being independents, it is reasonable to assume that without the chains, Eveve process up to 50% of online reservations in Minneapolis-St Paul for independent restaurants. There is no reason why this can not be done in Denver, given that it mirrors Minneapolis in so many ways.”

The benefits for the Denver restaurant community are tangible. “In Minneapolis, Eveve has proven it can provide an industry-standard reservation system and comparable online reservations volumes, as the previous supplier [Opentable], at a cost which is typically 70-90% less”. The introduction of a viable competitor into a formerly monopoly market will typically have a meaningful impact on prices, but the scale of the savings in this case are particularly unusual.

The restaurant business is a tough one, and if restaurants can shave thousands (or in many cases tens of thousands) of dollars per year from their bottom line, it is a welcome saving. Ryan concludes “There are a handful of restaurants in Minneapolis that switched to Eveve which actually saved as much on Opentable fees, as the owners paid themselves the previous year”. There might be some of those in Denver!

July 10, 2012

Leading Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Bay Area restaurants leave OpenTable and bypass UrbanSpoon´s Rezbook in favor of tech-savvy Eveve online restaurant reservation system.

Minneapolis, MN, Los Angeles, CA, Mountain View, CA, San Francisco, CA – Timothy Ryan, President of EVEVE´s North American operations, announced today that it has expanded its United States presence to four of America´s most important markets by partnering with critically-acclaimed restaurants in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Sacramento and the Bay Area. Continuing a successful rollout of its cloud-based online reservations system, Eveve signed four leading California restaurants, allowing them to take back control of their own customer databases while substantially lowering their costs.

“Our business continues to demonstrate strong momentum in 2012,” said EVEVE´s Ryan. “More and more restaurateurs are spreading the word that our advanced technology allows us to drop their costs tremendously. This ‘double bonus´ has fueled the growth of our market penetration in restaurants, seated diners and number of key markets throughout the U.S. and Canada.

EVEVE announced its newest expansion plans into California, eight other states and two provinces in Canada after surpassing expectations in their initial U.S. test market of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Entering the U.S. market just 10 months ago, EVEVE has succeeded in capturing 39% of all Twin Cities online bookings and announced last month that they have now surpassed Urbanspoon´s Rezbook as Open Table´s leading U.S. competitor.

“We´re focusing our growth efforts in areas that we believe position us to realize the long-term opportunity for us to continue to successfully emerge as Open Table´s leading challenger throughout North America and Europe,” said Ryan.

Two of the Bay Area´s most critically acclaimed and busiest restaurants – Silicon Valley´s Mountain View´s Xanh, (just three miles from Google´s home office “The Googleplex”) and Santa Rosa´s Zazu (both formerly with Open Table), Black and Blue Steakhouses – one of Hollywood´s most revered restaurants – and Grass Valley´s The Owl announced today that they have switched their online booking systems to EVEVE. “We are very honored and excited to be able to establish our initial presence in America´s most important market by announcing our partnerships with these amazing restaurants,” said Ryan.

EVEVE´s cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate and preserve their brand” said Ryan, “which is perhaps a factor in the increased number of calls we are fielding from throughout the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

Minneapolis, MN and London, UK: May 23, 2012

UK and North America based global online reservations system, EVEVE, announced that they were recently selected by Delaware North to provide the restaurant reservations system for the Metropolitan Club at Target Field – home of Major League Baseball´s Minnesota Twins. Delaware North provides venue management services at more than 50 of the world´s most prestigious stadiums, arenas and other entertainment complexes on three continents. Delaware North´s vast portfolio includes long-term partnerships with London´s Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium, the Australian Open tennis championships and with a number of Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association teams and venues.

“We are honored that Delaware North selected us to provide our reservations system to the Metropolitan Club at Target Field – home of the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis, MN,” said Timothy Ryan, President and Director of EVEVE´s North American operations. “Delaware North has been a global leader in the hospitality business for nearly 100 years in many of the world´s most extraordinary locations,” said Ryan. “Target Field is one of Major League´s most spectacular new stadiums and we are thrilled to be part of its future.”

“Delaware North did extensive research about our successes in the Twin Cities and we are very honored that they came to trust our software to meet their customer´s needs and we are excited to be able to deliver a reservation system of this magnitude for Delaware North and the Minnesota Twins,” said Ryan.

“Our cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, is being well received by hospitality companies around the world and we are looking forward to becoming a leading provider of reservations systems throughout the global sports and restaurant industries,” said EVEVE´s Ryan.

Edinburgh based global restaurant reservation leader, EVEVE, announced today that it booked its 1,000,000th diner this weekend. The historic reservation was booked at London´s critically acclaimed La Buvette. The individual who booked this reservation will receive a dinner for two at La Buvette, courtesy of EVEVE and La Buvette will receive one month of complimentary EVEVE service as part of EVEVE´s celebration of this success story.

“Booking our 1,000,000th diner online is a particularly special milestone for us,” said Timothy Ryan, President of EVEVE´s North America operations.” “The 1,000,000th diner underlines the consumer and restaurant demand for our product, and could only have been achieved with robust technology.”

“When we launched in Edinburgh in 2007, people thought we were mad, but two restaurateurs, Gavin Ferguson and Tony Crolla, saw the long term picture and got firmly behind us,” said EVEVE´s CEO Timothy Ryan. “Their support and guidance was instrumental in the development of our product. Tony Crolla owns Edinburgh´s famous Vittoria and La Favorita restaurants, while Gavin Ferguson was a previous owner at Skippers and the Waterfront, who now owns the Waterside Bistro in Haddington.”

Today 93% of Eveve´s reservations come from outside Scotland, but the company has not forgotten its Scottish roots. “We are still headquartered in Edinburgh, with the global development team located here, not to mention our European support operations” notes Timothy John Ryan, CEO. “We hope that companies like ours, which are exporting from Scotland, can help the local economy by bringing quality skilled jobs and revenues into Edinburgh”.

“Eveve appreciates the incredible support extended to us by our restaurant partners,” said Ryan. “Our cutting edge technology has enabled restaurateurs to run their businesses more efficiently and profitably.”

“In addition to our long standing relationships with restaurants in Europe and Australasia we now operate in 10 U.S. states and Canada,” added Ryan. “Restaurant owners across North America can look forward to solid growth in our service provision. We look forward to the next million diners and remain committed to continually improving the user experience. “

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservations systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

APRIL 18, 2012

EVEVE Increases its North American Presence to Cover Nine U.S. States

Minneapolis, MN and Buffalo, NY – April 18, 2012: Continuing a successful rollout of its cloud–based reservations system, Timothy Ryan, President of EVEVE´s US operations, announced today that four leading New York restaurants – in Buffalo and Rochester, NY, – have switched their online reservation systems to EVEVE. EVEVE announced its newest expansion plans into New York, eight other states and two provinces in Canada after surpassing expectations in their initial U.S. test market of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Entering the U.S. market just eight months ago, EVEVE has succeeded in capturing 39% of all Twin Cities online bookings and announced last month that they have now surpassed Urbanspoon as Open Table´s leading U.S. competitor.

Buffalo and Rochester´s critically acclaimed Black and Blue Steak and Crab and JoJo Bistro and Wine Bar restaurants announced today that they have switched their online booking systems to EVEVE. “These four extraordinary restaurants are perfect compliments to the elite calibre of restaurants we are partnering with throughout the U.S.,” said EVEVE´s Ryan.

“What is interesting about our new partners is the extensive due diligence they performed into the future of online restaurant reservations,” said Ryan. “Our new clients were educated in alternative solutions available in the marketplace and their decision to partner with EVEVE is further evidence that the North American restaurant marketplace is beginning to see EVEVE as the technology and business partner they need to align themselves with if they are going to experience levels of growth that will allow them to flourish in these challenging economic times.”

EVEVE´s cutting–edge technology, which uses cloud–based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate and preserve their brand” said Ryan, “which is perhaps a factor in the increased number of calls we are fielding from throughout the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.

RESERVATIONS WAR BY ADAM PLATT – TWIN CITIES BUSINESS – WWW.TCBMAG.COM

A year after Eveve Software decided to make the Twin Cities its first American beachhead, a full–fledged war has broken out over how restaurants take reservations.

Over the last decade, &n Francisco–based Open Table Inc. has grown to dominate the restaurant reservations business, its ubiquitous computer terminals perched at host stands in thousands of American restaurants.

We have grown accustomed to making reservations online, day or night, using Open Table´s customizable Web interface to find restaurants at a certain time or in a certain neighborhood, on long or short notice. Business travelers rely on Open Table´s ratings and geographic groupings to make finding a meal easier on the road.

But that convenience comes at a cost to restaurants. Mark Pastore, of San Francisco´s lauded lncanto restaurant, publicly accused Open Table of a fee structure that sucked most of the profitability out of small restaurants. He called on the marketplace to create competition that would alter Open Table´s defacto monopoly. (Open Table has always had competitors, but restaurateurs say few have been able to offer a product that duplicates Open Table´s suite of restaurant operations and marketing software.)

Into that breach last year stepped Eveve, a Scotland–based software company that selected the Twin Cities to be its first U.S. market. It entered with a splash, pulling eight of Open Table´s top 10 Twin Cities restaurants (in booking volume), the five largest representing 20,000 diners a month, says Tim Ryan, Eveve director and president of U.S. operations. As of press time, the privately held Eveve boasted 46 Twin Cities clients {43 are former Open Table members), while Open Table´s Web interface offers 224 restaurants. (Open Table debuted in the Twin Cities in 2004.)

“We saw the Twin Cities as representative of a typical U.S. city;´ says Ryan. “If we could prove it here, it might work anywhere:´ Ryan also says he believes the Twin Cities were at or near the top of Opentable cities in revenue per restaurant, meaning the savings Eveve could offer would be compelling.

To read more please view the full article at Twin Cities Business Magazine – www.tcbmag.com

MARCH 22, 2012

Hell´s Kitchen now one of the nation´s busiest independent restaurants.

Minneapolis – In an ironic twist of fate, Hell´s Kitchen, which by all accounts shouldn´t have even survived its first year in business, now finds itself in an elite group as one of the country´s busiest independently–owned restaurants.

Located in the heart of downtown, the one–of–a–kind restaurant almost didn´t get off the ground after chef/founder Mitch Omer suffered a debilitating accident just weeks after opening in 2002. To deal with the crisis, the cash–strapped owners had to scramble for funds, selling off almost everything they owned (including their house) and even borrowing from their son´s meager college savings.

Fast forward to 2012, when the restaurant –in the midst of celebrating its 10th anniversary– discovered it has grown into one of the busiest restaurants in the country. “When we left OpenTable last year, they mentioned that our numbers were higher than most of their New York City restaurants. I just assumed they were trying to flatter us to keep the account,” explained co-founder Cynthia Gerdes. “But now EVEVE, our new reservation company, says we´re booking more reservations than any of their other clients in the world, and that´s certainly caught my attention.”

“We´re thrilled to have fiercely loyal customers, especially because we´re an independent,” added Omer. “So to celebrate 10 years, I tossed out a bet that I´d throw a customer appreciation brunch if we could get 10,000 Facebook Fans,” he said.

Customers got behind the effort and won the bet this week, so Omer´s throwing a party May 5th & 6th featuring ten best menu items at $10 each, tables laden with prizes, free live music, plus Tickets to Hell for free meals and other goodies throughout the remainder of the year. Omer even decided to fly in an out of town winner for an all-expenses trip to Minneapolis that weekend.

The minute the party was announced, phones rang off the hook, and EVEVE´s new reservation system booked over 1,400 reservations in a matter of hours. “Thank God our systems held up,” said Gerdes, but the sudden spike in online activity set monitoring alarms off all the way in the U.K., where their reservation company guards client accounts 24/7.

The restaurant, never shy about touting its own horn (“We´ve worked our asses off for ten years with rarely even a day off, so damn right we´re proud,” winks Gerdes), has consistently garnered recognition for its breakfast, lunch and dinner menus, winning accolades from Gourmet Magazine, MPR, and national travel magazines. Yet the late night food with live music has fueled the independent´s biggest growth, attracting younger audiences that come back to eat after discovering the seductive underground lair.

Contact:
Cynthia Gerdes, Co-owner and Co-founder, Hell´s Kitchen
612-867-1919 Cyn@HellsKitchenInc.com
Patrick Forciea, Director of Marketing, Hell´s Kitchen
612-990-2581 Pat@HellsKitchenInc.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MN AND LONDON, UK – MARCH 1, 2012

In just seven months, 39% of all Twin Cities online restaurant monthly bookings have switched from OpenTable to Eveve, topping off a successful US introduction of the European-based reservation system.

Timothy Ryan, Director and President of U.S. operations, announced today that six more critically acclaimed Twin Cities restaurants – Zelo, Bacio, J.D. Hoyt´s, Ike´s, The Hanger Room and Café Maude have joined the growing list of other heavy hitters who left OpenTable for Eveve´s more affordable reservation system.

“We feel very fortunate to announce our partnership with these six extraordinary restaurants,” explained Ryan, “not only because they are six of the most highly-regarded restaurants in the Midwest, but also because they all did extensive research before making the switch. There are several alternatives out there, and the fact that they, along with restaurants like Bar LaGrassa, Hell´s Kitchen, Barrio, Meritage, French Meadow, Jax, Scusi and restaurants owned by the Morrissey Hospitality Group – chose EVEVE further proves that restaurants of all sizes trust our software to take care of customer reservations while significantly cutting overhead.” Hell´s Kitchen and Bar LaGrassa were OpenTable´s top 2 “most booked” establishments in Minneapolis, while Meritage represents St. Paul´s most high-awarded restaurant.

“At this point, we´re handling 45,000 of the estimated 116,000 monthly total online reservations in the Twin Cities,” continued Ryan, “which is notable because in this test market, we´ve already met and exceeded our most optimistic expectations, validating research that shows a huge market of restaurateurs have been waiting for an affordable alternative.”

Eveve´s cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants such as Zelo, Bacio and J.D. Hoyt´s to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate” said Ryan, “and I think that´s another reason we´re fielding calls from all over the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.”

EVEVE´s Ryan also announced that EVEVE has entered into partnerships with restaurants in Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, California, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Iowa and Canada. “We´re extremely grateful our Twin Cities restaurant partners and are very excited about being able to expand our presence with restaurant owners across the U.S. and Canada,” said Ryan.

On the international front, EVEVE announced that they have recently secured partnerships with all of the T.G.I. Friday´s restaurants throughout the country of Greece and with Piers Morgan´s exclusive Hansom Cab restaurant in London. “Greece has been a wonderful country for us and we´re thrilled to announce this expansion of our presence there,” added Ryan.

Established in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN AND BOSTON, MA – FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Continuing a successful rollout of its cloud-based reservations system, Timothy Ryan, President and Director of EVEVE´s U.S. operations, announced today that a leading Boston restaurant has switched its online reservation system to EVEVE. EVEVE announced their 2012 expansion plans into Boston after surpassing its expectations in their initial U.S. test market of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Entering the U.S. market just six months ago, EVEVE has succeeded in capturing more than 20% of all Twin Cities online bookings and announced last month that they have now surpassed Urbanspoon as Open Table´s leading U.S. competitor.

“We feel very fortunate that one of the most prestigious restaurants in Boston has switched their online reservation systems to us,” said EVEVE´s Tim Ryan. “Boston is our next U.S. market – it is one of the most celebrated restaurant cities in America – and we are thrilled that our initial foray into this market is going so successfully,” said Ryan.

Boston´s critically acclaimed The Fireplace announced today that they have switched their online booking systems to EVEVE. “The Fireplace has won numerous awards from the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine and the Wine Spectator,” said Ryan. “We are very grateful Fireplace has joined the extraordinary restaurant partners we have in our initial U.S. market in the Twin Cities.”

The Fireplace is a New England Grill and Barbeque, with an emphasis on wood-smoked and rotisserie dishes utilizing the freshest offerings of the New England region. The Fireplace´s owner and chef, Jim Solomon, said “While open minded to a new system we have relied comfortably on Open Table for years.” “Yet, the tremendous expenses and some system limitations lead me to explore other options. After thorough examination we decided with great confidence and enthusiasm to partner with EVEVE,” added Solomon. “Jim Solomon´s extraordinary commitment to both domestic and international non-profit organization work is legendary and we are very proud to have the opportunity to be part of his future,” said EVEVE´s Ryan.

“Several other restaurant reservation companies have tried to compete with Open Table but none of them have succeeded the way we have in our initial U.S. test market,” said Ryan. “Our successful entry into our next market – Boston – validates our research that shows a huge market of restaurateurs have been waiting for an affordable alternative.” “Our newest restaurant partner did extensive research about our successes in the Twin Cities and chose us because they have come to trust our software to take care of customer reservations while significantly cutting overhead,” said Ryan.

EVEVE´s cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate” said Ryan, “and I think that´s another reason we´re fielding calls from all over the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.”

Launched in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

ST. PAUL, MN – JANUARY 30, 2012

Continuing a successful rollout of its cloud-based reservations system, Timothy Ryan, President and Director of EVEVE´s U.S. operations, announced today that Morrissey Hospitality Companies (MHC), the Midwest´s leading hospitality management company, has switched the reservation systems for Enjoy! Restaurant and Bar in Apple Valley, MN and Paradise Landing Restaurant in Balsam Lake, WI to EVEVE. Entering the U.S. market just six months ago, EVEVE has succeeded in capturing more than 20% of all Twin Cities online bookings and announced last month that they have now surpassed Urbanspoon as Open Table´s leading U.S. competitor.

“We feel very fortunate that one of the Midwest´s most prestigious hospitality management companies has switched their online reservation systems for two of their restaurants to us,” said EVEVE´s Tim Ryan. “Morrissey Hospitality Companies is one of Midwest´s most respected hospitality management companies and we are thrilled to announce them as our newest partner,” said Ryan.

Morrissey Hospitality Companies, located in St. Paul, MN, is the Midwest´s leading hospitality management company with a prestigious portfolio of hotels, restaurants and sports and entertainment brands. MHC´s restaurants – including Enjoy! and Paradise Landing – rank among the best of the best in the country, garnering awards from the Zagat Survey, Gourmet Magazine, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, Wine Spectator, Twin Cities Business Monthly and Minnesota Monthly.

MHC´s Corporate Director of Marketing, Arthur Morrissey, said “Our brands provide authentic hospitality to our guests and we need to give our people the tools to be successful.” “Controlling the input costs help keep the cost to the guest down and we all like having more dollars in our pockets,” Morrissey added. “We welcome the partnership between Enjoy!, Paradise Landing and EVEVE,”

“Several other restaurant reservation companies have tried to compete with Open Table but none of them have succeeded the way we have in our initial U.S. test market,” said Ryan. “EVEVE´s successes validates our research that shows a huge market of restaurateurs have been waiting for an affordable alternative.” “Our newest restaurant partner did extensive research about our successes in the Twin Cities and chose us because they have come to trust our software to take care of customer reservations while significantly cutting overhead,” said Ryan.

EVEVE´s cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate” said Ryan, “and I think that´s another reason we´re fielding calls from all over the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.”

Launched in 2007, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 7, 2011

Continuing a steady and successful rollout of its cloud-based reservation system, Timothy Ryan, President and Director of EVEVE U.S. operations, announced today that EVEVE has surpassed Urbanspoon as Open Table´s leading U.S. competitor. Entering the U.S. market only 5 months ago, EVEVE focused on the Twin Cities as a test market, and the initial efforts surpassed all expectations as well as garnered heavy investor interest.

Not only did EVEVE beat Rezbook´s most recently published numbers, but it took a significant bite out of industry giant OpenTable´s market share. “EVEVE now processes over 20% of all Twin Cities online bookings,” explained Ryan, “even though OpenTable flew in top brass to try and stop the exodus.” OpenTable lost not only its “most booked” restaurants (Bar La Grassa and Hell´s Kitchen), but also won accounts from award-winning establishments such as Barrio, Meritage, and other notable names. “The fiercely independent operators were key to us, because they understood it´s not just that we cost far less; it´s also about actually gaining online bookings. The facts have borne out: restaurants that take their own reservation system in-house usually are happily surprised to see an immediate increase in bookings. Once they realize how many of their own customers were being lured to competitors with all the offers people see on OpenTable´s home page, the picture became far more clear, and thus these restaurant owners weren´t enticed by ‘last minute deals´ from OpenTable to get them back.”

Until Eveve came, the Twin Cities had been OpenTable´s top market, followed closely by Washington DC. Even more significant is that EVEVE has only been in the U.S. for five months, focusing initial efforts in their test market of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.

EVEVE surpassed Urbanspoon´s claim to 18,000 covers in November and projects reservations of 27,000 this month. “We are very pleased to have become the leading US challenger to Open Table in such a short time, proving a hungry market for an alternative that can actually increase the number of bookings,” said EVEVE´s Ryan. “We will have 50 restaurants in the EVEVE family next month and we look forward to announcing our U.S. expansion plans after January 1st.”

Established in 1997, EVEVE has been a technology leader since 1997 and entered the restaurant market in 2007. EVEVE currently has relationships with approximately 1,100 restaurants worldwide.

NOVEMBER 18, 2011, MINNEAPOLIS, MN AND LONDON,UK

Another wave of Twin Cities restaurants have switched their online restaurant systems from Open Table to EVEVE. The newest restaurants include the two Sunset´s restaurants in Wayzata and Woodbury, Joe´s Garage, Fuji Ya, Rainbow, Jax´s Café and King and I Thai. These seven restaurants join some of the highest profile restaurants in the Midwest including Bar La Grassa, Hell´s Kitchen, Meritage and the 3 Twin Cities Barrio restaurants.

“Several other reservation entities have tried to compete with Open Table but none of them have succeeded the way we have in our initial U.S. test market,” said Tim Ryan, Director and President of EVEVE´s U.S. operations. “Our first foray into the U.S. has been an unprecedented success. We are now poised to become the lead challenger to Open Table in 2012,” said Ryan.

“In the U.S., Open Table charges more than double what they do in Europe,” said Ryan. “Twin Cities restaurants have grown tired of subsidizing Open Table´s expansion in Europe. We are also receiving very positive feedback to the fact we do not market other restaurants to their diners, said Ryan.” “Unlike Open Table, we realize that a restaurant´s customers belong to them and not to either Open Table or us.”

“We have also successfully helped restaurants deal with the concerns some of had regarding the possibility of their losing customers as a result of their transition to EVEVE, said Ryan.” “Those restaurants who switched to EVEVE are now seeing their online bookings increase by as much as 42% from their 2010 numbers when they were with Open Table,” said Ryan.

• Jax´s Café´s bookings are up 42%
• WA Frost´s are up 37%
• Hell´s Kitchen are up 21%
• Scuzi´s are up 12%
• Bar La Grassa´s are up 5%

“Twin Cities restaurants are giving us seven reasons for their decision to switch to us,” said Ryan. These factors include:

1. Cost savings

2. Maintain control over their brand

3. Retain control of their reservations

4. Stop losing reservations to their competitors

5. Manage tables exactly as individual restaurants want with EVEVE´s custom designed systems

6. Work with a provider that has worldwide support and financial stability

7. Partner with a company that uses cutting edge reservations system technology

An already established global technology company, EVEVE established its live reservations systems in 2007. EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservations systems and has relationships with approximately 1,100 restaurants worldwide.

NOVEMBER 10, 2011, BLOGS.CITYPAGES.COM

Open Table lost another Twin Cities customer Monday.

Barrio´s three restaurants–in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Cocina del Barrio–switched their online reservation account to local company Eveve, which has been steadily siphoning off the company´s business in Minnesota since spring.

“It just came down to the economics of it,” says Ryan Burnet, owner of Barrio. “It makes more sense for us.”

Burnet estimates Barrio was paying “three or four times more at Open Table” than Eveve will charge them.

“I don´t think we were seeing the benefit of it,” Burnet says of Open Table´s reservation system.

Barrio joins a list of high-profile restaurants including Meritage, Hell´s Kitchen, and Bar La Grassa that have teamed up with Eveve in the past few months.

Open Table boasts that it´s been serving the Twin Cities for seven years and hosts online reservations for more than 230 local restaurants.

“We´ve always had competition in the marketplace,” writes Tiffany Cox in an email to City Pages. “However, the chief competitor remains the pen and paper reservation book.”

Cox questioned whether Eveve can handle the businesses it´s taking on.

“In terms of the competitor you referenced below, what we´re hearing from restaurant customers who experimented with it and subsequently decided to return to OpenTable is that the software they tried was not robust or reliable enough for their reservation-intensive businesses,” Cox wrote.

Eveve´s owner shrugs off Cox´s criticism.

“It´s fairly well known that, by volume, Hell´s Kitchen is the busiest restaurant in town,” Timothy Ryan says. “They´ve done this service for four months now.”

Ryan projects future growth for his company.

“I think the fact that they´re not taking us seriously is going to haunt them,” Ryan says. “I believe that 50 restaurants will switch to us by Christmas.”

Original Article: blogs.citypages.com Barrio drops Open Table reservation system, switches to Eveve

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

In just four months, 30,000 of the estimated 116,000 Twin Cities online restaurant monthly bookings have switched from OpenTable to Eveve, topping off a successful US introduction of the European-based reservation system.

Timothy Ryan, Director and President of U.S. operations, announced today that three more critically acclaimed restaurants –Barrio Minneapolis, Barrio St. Paul, and Cocina del Barrio–have joined the growing list of other heavy hitters who left OpenTable for Eveve´s more affordable reservation system.

“We feel very fortunate to announce our partnership with Barrio,” explained Ryan, “not only because they are three of the most highly-regarded restaurants in the Midwest, but also because the founders, Ryan Burnet and Tim Rooney, did extensive research before making the switch. There are several alternatives out there, and the fact that they, along with Meritage, Hell´s Kitchen, and Bar LaGrassa – chose Eveve further proves that restaurants of all sizes trust our software to take care of customer reservations while significantly cutting overhead.” Hell´s Kitchen and Bar LaGrassa were OpenTable´s top 2 “most booked” establishments, while Meritage represents St. Paul´s most high-awarded restaurant.

“At this point, we´re handling 30,000 of the estimated 116,000 monthly total online reservations in the Twin Cities,” continued Ryan, “which is notable because in this test market, we´ve already met and exceeded our most optimistic expectations, validating research that shows a huge market of restaurateurs have been waiting for an affordable alternative.”

Eveve´s cutting-edge technology, which uses cloud-based solutions, makes it easier for restaurants such as Barrio to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies. “As restaurants start to look into mobile websites, they realize our system will be much easier to integrate” said Ryan, “and I think that´s another reason we´re fielding calls from all over the country. Restaurant owners not only have to cut costs, but stay on top of technology at the same time, and the fact that Eveve offers both has contributed to our careful but rapid growth.”

Established in 1997, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservation systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide.

OCTOBER 24, 2011

Timothy Ryan, Director and President of U.S. operations for EVEVE, announced today that the affordable restaurant online reservation system has just completed a round of angel investment to expand its entry into the U.S. market.

“We´re delighted to have this new round of funding,” explained Ryan, “not only to capitalize on our rapid growth, but also because it validates our assertion that the U.S. market would quickly adopt our cloud technology approach.” While OpenTable´s system is based on Visual Basic –technology over a decade old– Eveve embraces cloud solutions which makes it easier for restaurants to take advantage of critically important new mobile technologies.

“The extraordinarily enthusiastic reception we are receiving from restaurant owners in our initial U.S. test market – Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – now puts us in a position to fully execute our U.S. expansion plans,” according to Ryan.

“While some business writers have focused on restaurants who switched from Open Table to Eveve, our immediate success also proves there´s a huge untapped market of restaurateurs who have never offered online reservations and now finally have an affordable alternative using cutting-edge technology.

Ryan also announced the opening of EVEVE´s U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis:

EVEVE
100 South 5th Street
Suite 1900
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: 917-725-3114

Contact: Timothy Ryan.
Tel: 651-395-9468

OCTOBER 7, 2011

www.bizjournals.com

Hell´s Kitchen co-owner Cynthia Gerdes had long been frustrated with the costs of OpenTable Inc. ‘s online reservation system. The downtown Minneapolis restaurant spent $32,000 on the service last year – subscription fees of $199 per month, plus another $1 for each diner booked through OpenTable.com or 25 cents for each diner booked through hellskitcheninc.com.

So, in June, Gerdes took her business elsewhere, switching to a European competitor called Eveve Software Ltd. that charges a flat rate of $200 per month for its booking system – a savings of more than 90 percent compared to what Hell´s Kitchen was paying OpenTable.

“OpenTable was great. We never had any problems whatsoever with the software or customer service,” Gerdes said. “It was strictly about price. It was just way too expensive.”

Gerdes isn´t alone. Roughly 20 Twin Cities restaurants have switched from OpenTable to Eveve in recent months, including some popular spots such as Bar La Grassa, Jax Café, Meritage and W.A. Frost & Co.

Over the past couple of months, the competition has evolved into a full-fledged food fight as Eveve tries to lure more restaurants to its reservation system, while OpenTable attempts to retain its customers and win back those that have left.

OpenTable, which has done business in Minnesota for seven years, remains the dominant player in the market, with 235 restaurants using its system. However, Eveve Director Tim Ryan said he expects to have 50 Twin Cities customers on that system by the end of this year.

“We´re looking at Minneapolis as a test market for us to validate our business in the United States,” he said, noting that the company has a few restaurant customers in states such as Texas and New Jersey. “Most of the sales we´ve gotten have been through word of mouth.”

Last week, Eveve signed a lease for an office at Fifth Street Towers in downtown Minneapolis, which will serve as the company´s U.S. headquarters and provide room for as many as seven employees. It now has two Minnesota employees, but plans to have three more by the end of next week.

The Scottish company´s largest market is the United Kingdom, where it has more than 500 restaurant customers. It has more than 250 customers in Australia and New Zealand, as well as some in Spain, Greece, Ireland and Canada.

Making the change

While price is the biggest factor driving restaurants to Eveve, concerns about losing customers have been among the biggest deterrents. So far, that hasn´t materialized, according to several of the restaurants that made the change.

“We´ve been happy with it,” said Nancy St. Pierre, co-owner of Bar La Grassa, which switched to Eveve two months ago. “We haven´t seen a change. We´ve stayed very busy.”

Hell´s Kitchen also reports positive results. Gerdes planned a six-month re-education campaign to make sure customers knew about the change and how to make online reservations, but she didn´t need it.

“I figured if we lost half of our online bookings we could still come out quite a bit ahead financially, but we actually ended up with an increase in bookings,” she said. “That was my biggest surprise.”

Overall, customer feedback at Scusi restaurant in St. Paul has been positive, said Stephanie Shimp, co-owner of parent company Blue Plate Restaurant Co.

“We sent an e-mail blast to our entire customer database to inform them of the change, and I only heard from two or three people who were disappointed that they wouldn´t get rewards points from OpenTable for booking online anymore,” she said, noting that her company has tried to mitigate that by directing customers to its new mobile app that includes loyalty rewards across all seven of the company´s restaurants.

Beyond price, another big difference between the services is that Eveve, unlike OpenTable, does not operate a main reservation website featuring all of its restaurants. Instead, it merely operates as an online reservation system that restaurants run on their own websites; there´s no mention of Eveve and customers do not need to sign up.

Ryan said he thinks OpenTable´s portal works against busy restaurants because customers might opt for another option if they can´t get the exact reservation they want. With Eveve, the customer only sees other options for that restaurant, not its competitors.

“Essentially OpenTable redistributes bookings from the busy restaurants to the quiet ones,” he said.

Original Article: www.bizjournals.com Some restaurants leave OpenTable

AUGUST 10, 2011

www.twincities.com

(image right) Ryan Huseby, left, assistant general manager of W.A. Frost, and host Ryan Michelson review dinner reservations at the St. Paul Cathedral Hill restaurant. W.A. Frost recently replaced its online reservation system with Eveve, which allows reservations only via the restaurant´s website. (Pioneer Press: Joe Michaud-Scorza)

ARTICLE

The Twin Cities restaurant scene has become a battleground between established online reservation service OpenTable and U.K. upstart Eveve.

Eveve, which is hoping to lure notable restaurants nationwide, has already picked up W.A. Frost and Meritage in St. Paul and Bar La Grassa and Hell´s Kitchen in Minneapolis.

OpenTable offers diners restaurant listings complete with available seating and customer reviews. Users generally must go to OpenTable for those options, though the company also powers reservations taken directly from restaurants´ websites. Eveve, which costs restaurants less, is a markedly different service. Eveve provides software for restaurants to take reservations on their own websites only – and that´s enough for some of its new clients.

“We´re going on the fact that if people want to make a reservations at W.A. Frost, they´re going to seek us out and make a reservation at our website,” said Bob Crew, general manager.

One major client sticking with OpenTable is the Parasole restaurant group that includes Manny´s, Burger Jones and Chino Latino. Parasole doesn´t want to risk losing OpenTable users, particularly at legacy brands such as Muffuletta in St. Paul and the Good Earth chain.

“On an annual basis, we have 1.8 million guests,” said Kip Clayton, a Parasole vice president. “Could you imagine if 10 percent of them went away for any reason? It would be a horrible blow.”

DISTINCT SERVICES

For many frequent diners, Open-Table has become a go-to site to make restaurant reservations from their phones or laptops at no cost while earning points for restaurant discounts along the way.

“I´m one of that generation that doesn´t like to physically talk to people on the phone, so it´s just so easy to make reservations at OpenTable,” said Laura Okell, a 20-something self-confessed foodie from Minneapolis.

Eveve is trying to attract busy restaurants that don´t need marketing. So far, Eveve has signed 20 restaurants after setting up for the U.S. market eight weeks ago in the Twin Cities, according to Tim Ryan, chief executive of Eveve. The company just signed a lease at Fifth Street Towers in Minneapolis and has offices around the world, though its home office is in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Ryan insists the company, launched in 2007, doesn´t want to emulate the wide-ranging OpenTable business model, just lure some of its largest accounts. “The Twin Cities is our test market for North America,” Ryan said. “It´s affluent; it´s got two vibrant restaurant sectors.”

Eveve provides its software for a flat monthly fee of $200. The Open-Table cost structure provides more options, such as live table management, website design and email newsletters. With options, the service can run up to a few thousand dollars a month.

Original Article: www.twincities.com Online reservation showdown under way in Twin Cities: OpenTable vs. pilot Eveve

August 22, 2011

blogs.citypages.com

?A few months ago, the Hot Dish reported on several local restaurants that were unhappy with their electronic reservations provider, Open Table. More recently, a couple major players, Hell’s Kitchen and Meritage, switched their service to Open Table’s biggest competitor in Europe, Eveve, in order to save money and avoid the possibility of having potential bookings cannibalized by Open Table’s discount-heavy marketing program.

After Hell’s Kitchen and Meritage joined Eveve, the company decided to focus on the Twin Cities restaurant market. In the past few weeks, Eveve has secured several other prominent local eateries and seems to be gaining a foothold.

Making the assumption that the most reviewed restaurants on Open Table are its most booked, just this week, Eveve launched online reservations services for several of the metro’s top 20 restaurants, including the top 5 Bar La Grassa, which typically books about 4,000 covers online each month. (Isaac Becker and Nancy St. Pierre’s other restaurant, 112 Eatery, has never offered online reservations.)

A few other major eateries with substantial online monthly bookings have also recently joined Eveve, including Al Vento and Rinata, along with Rock Bottom Brewery, Jake O’Connor’s, and Lola’s Lakehouse.

Eveve’s director and co-owner Timothy Ryan says he believes that Hell’s Kitchen and Bar La Grassa were Open Table’s number one and two most-booked restaurants in the Twin Cities, which brought the company tens of thousands of dollars worth of annual revenue. For large restaurants not in need of online marketing services, Eveve’s $200 a month flat fee can be much lower than Open Table’s per-cover fee, and in talking to several local restaurateurs, Ryan was surprised to discover the substantial size of that gap. Hell’s Kitchen, for example, was previously paying up to $3,000 a month. “We didn’t realize just how much these busy restaurants are paying Open Table,” he says.

Ryan estimates that, so far, Eveve has captured some 20 percent of Open Table’s business in the Twin Cities market by booking about 18-20,000 monthly covers. And the company is already in talks with several other major players, including the Parasole group, which owns more than a dozen restaurants in the metro. Ryan says the biggest concern that restaurateurs have about switching from Open Table to Eveve is the possibility of lost bookings, but he quickly notes that Hell’s Kitchen, which switched a few weeks ago, has actually seen its bookings increase.

Eveve’s play for Open Table’s business won’t come without a fight. Open Table has reportedly been trying to win its former clients back, offering extra discounts and incentives. Still, Eveve feels it can compete against the Goliath of online restaurant reservations by offering a lower-cost alternative. “Open Table abused its market position in America,” Ryan says.

Original Article: blogs.citypages.com Eveve v. Open Table: More prominent Twin Cities restaurants switch reservation services

August 12, 2011

Open Table, the country’s largest reservations system, loses their top Twin Cities restaurants

Minneapolis, MN & London, England – August 12, 2011

Ten leading Twin Cities restaurants have recently decided to drop their relationships with Open Table and switch to EVEVE. Critically acclaimed Hell’s Kitchen plus St. Paul award winning Meritage and Rock Bottom Brewery in Minneapolis have all switched their online reservations to Europe-based reservations system EVEVE. Established in 1997, EVEVE is a leading global supplier of live reservations systems and has relationships with approximately 1,000 restaurants worldwide. EVEVE has just begun to establish a U.S. presence initially focusing on the Twin Cities market.

“We are very grateful for the confidence Hell’s Kitchen, Meritage and our other eight clients have placed in our future in the U.S. market,” said EVEVE’s Director Timothy Ryan. “Of the 246 restaurants Open Table has relationships with in the Twin Cities, these ten represent roughly 18% of their projected 90,000 covers per month. We’ve been fortunate to emerge as Open Table’s strongest competitor in Europe and Asia and we are looking forward to bringing our successful reservations system, our level of customer service and our uniquely affordable pricing model to the U.S.”

“Our software allows a restaurant to control everything within their own website,” said Ryan. “Our system gives restaurateurs complete control over their tables and private customer data. EVEVE doesn’t host a consumer website or point potential diners toward ‘high point rewards’ competitors, which ring up even higher fees for Open Table. Restaurant owners have balked that Open Table’s fees are justified by their ‘marketing opportunities’ but in essence seem to often work against them,” said Ryan.

“Open Table’s pricing policy results in larger restaurants facing annual billings in excess of $30,000 and an inability to control how Open Table markets to its customers,” said EVEVE’s Ryan.

“The minute Hell’s Kitchen and Meritage announced their switch to EVEVE, we were deluged with inquires. Restaurants margins are shrinking; people said they’ve been looking for a solid alternative for a long time. Anyone fearful of losing online bookings can look to Hell’s Kitchen as an example. The first 30 days with us, their online bookings actually increased by 20% over last year,” said Ryan. Open Table’s strongly-skewed revenue model highlights a paradox. The restaurants who need Open Table the least are the ones who pay the most,” added Ryan.

“Elite restaurants are also subject to diner cannibalization. Diners at elite restaurants can only book online if they sign up with Open Table,” said Ryan. “While this confers convenience, it also opens up your diners to having their heads turned by the many savage discounts on Open Table, particularly Spotlight, or its new partnership with Savior. By forcing their own high end diners to sign up for Open Table and its discounts, the elite restaurants, by proxy, are advertising low-end discounts at rival restaurants to their own customers.”

“Restaurants have been frustrated with most of the other alternatives because they have emulated Open Table’s cover pricing model and they’ve not had the industrial technical capabilities to successfully meet their needs,” said Ryan. “The Twin Cities restaurant market is very representative of major markets around the country and we are convinced that our early successes here will be replicated in the rest of the country.”

JULY 7TH 2011

blogs.citypages.com

A recent Dish column looked into online reservations´ impact on Twin Cities restaurants. While many restaurants, especially those that are new, off the beaten path, or have many seats to fill, are benefiting from using the dominant online reservation system, Open Table, some were feeling beholden to a service didn´t really meet their needs and took a huge bite out of their budgets.

Desta and Russell Klein, the owners of Meritage in St. Paul felt that Open Table wasn´t aiding their restaurant enough to be worth its exorbitant cost, roughly $15,000 to $18,000 a year. They wanted to be able to offer their customers the ability to make online reservations, but they didn´t really need Open Table´s marketing services.

So a couple of weeks ago, Meritage dropped Open Table and switched to another reservation system…and a lot of other local restaurants may soon be following suit. Here´s why:

Desta Klein says that after the Dish article came out, she talked to Cynthia Gerdes, co-owner of Hell´s Kitchen, who had just received her monthly $3,000 Open Table bill and was fearing she would have to raise menu prices to cover the costs. The two looked into an online reservation service called Eveve, which is Open Table´s primary competitor in Europe. “We were both kind of scared to leave Open Table,” Klein says. “They have such a dominant market share. That´s not a good position to be in.”

Eveve still offers diners same-time reservations and confirmations, Klein says, but with the ability to customize the process in a way that better suited her restaurant´s needs. (The system can be set to designate which seats should be filled first and factor in the restaurant´s ability to push tables together for large groups, for example.)

Also, with Open Table, diners´ contact information feeds into Open Table´s database, which means customers on one restaurant´s email list receive marketing information from Open Table, essentially encouraging them to visit competing restaurants. “Open Table forced to pay for marketing I didn´t really want,” Desta Klein says. “Some of it was directly working against me.”

Best of all, Klein says, Eveve charges only a $200 per month flat fee. By contrast, Open Table charges a one-time installation fee of several hundred dollars (to cover setup and training for the Open Table computer terminal and software), plus, at minimum, a basic monthly fee of $199 and a per-cover charge of $1 for each person in the dining party on reservations booked through Open Table´s website. Eveve requires no contract, no special equipment, and can be accessed through as many computers as the restaurant desires, so staff can even manage reservations from home.

Klein says that so far, the new system is working better, and has cut Meritage´s online reservations expenses about 85 percent. Hell´s Kitchen made the switch a week ago and says it has seen its numbers of online reservations hold steady. Open Table was very useful to the large, downtown Minneapolis, tourist–friendly spot–Hell´s Kitchen was the system´s second most top booked in the Twin Cities, and among the top 10 in the nation, Gerdes says. But while the restaurant may miss out on some of the exposure Open Table offered, Gerdes thinks the annual savings–they paid a whopping $32,000 last year–will be more beneficial to the business overall.

Interestingly, Klein says she´s already received calls from several large local restaurant groups who are also interested in finding an alternative to Open Table. “We might be starting a mini revolution here,” she says.

Original Article: blogs.citypages.com Meritage and Hell´s Kitchen drop Open Table: The exodus begins?