Although the first post, it is by far the most important as we begin to establish ourselves in the expansive abyss of the interwebs. Most of you reading probably only have a vague idea, at best, of what HumblePlum is about and have likely only heard about in passing. Let me attempt to provide some insight into what we're working on, how it came to be and what we are hoping to accomplish.
HumblePlum is the brainchild of Mr. Alex Perlman and myself, conceived back in December of 2010. We have recently brought in another friend of ours, Dan Lee, who has helped us with brainstorming and R&D. I had the initial idea of starting a website which allows for acute, prompt and pure interaction between restaurants and individuals, with the interest of maximizing the dining experience while simultaneously eliminating the complexity of third party interference. No longer did I want to find out information about my favorite restaurant from Facebook or GroupOn. Not to bore you but here's a lil nugget of insight preceding the inception.
I've worked in several kitchens over the past six summers and have had a passion for eating, drinking(lemonade) and cooking. Although my professional upbringing in the culinary world took fourteen years to get started, my interest in food started circa my discovery of the Food Network. Hours were spent learning through the cable line and my tenth birthday included receiving several cooking utensils and a bonafide Teflon, non-stick, Emeril sauté pan from my grandmother. Ten years later I've worked every position in the kitchen, short of director of food and beverage, and have learned the ins and outs of what makes a kitchen run well. The interest in cooking and focusing on the beyond organic movement really catapulted the HumblePlum idea, but I really had no idea where to start such a project.
After a few months of meetings and hours of brainstorming, Alex and I have tailored HumblePlum to be a sleek and easy new way to drink and dine. HumblePlum is dual faceted, catering directly to both restaurants and individuals, or as we have grown to refer to them, patrons. Servicing locally owned, distinguished, boutique restaurants, the idea of HumblePlum allows for transparency for both the customer and the restaurant. On the restaurant side of things, owners can sign up and provide a public page for patrons to virtually view and interact with. The page will provide basic information such as location, hours, relative price and cuisine offered. But beyond the traditional information that a google search can provide, HumblePlum allows restaurants to streamline promotional deals, dining specials and updates directly to those following patrons. Likewise, for many of us college folk who seek out the least expensive dining and drinking options, third party sites usually provide these promotions at a cost to both the user and restaurant. Alongside this notion we are also aware of how confusing and frustrating these third party sites can be. Instead of having to refer to a third party for suggestions, reviews or promotions, HumblePlum brings all these needs into one comprehensive and functional site. With the idea to promote local businesses and locally produced food, we hope that HumblePlum can create a more intimate avenue for restaurants to interact with their community and vise versa.
The likable thing about HP is that there are incentives on both sides of the table for its use. More HumblePlum users provides restaurants with a larger clientele to directly reach out to. And the more restaurants to interact with allows patrons a variety of more enjoyable, and potentially cheaper dining experiences. For the patrons, HP effortlessly provides individuals basic information normally found on a confusing private website or third party page riddled with advertisements. By having a clean, consistent and direct avenue for individuals to research restaurants or bars, eating and drinking gets a whole lot more simple. But beyond the basic features, HumblePlum wants to create a new way to eat and drink. We are hoping to establish a revolutionary way to dine by offering features such as an online reservation system, a restaurant recommendation service, a direct food search and much more. 'Revolutionary' is not a term to be taken lightly when we're talking about a multibillion dollar a year industry, but I hope you can realize the potential possibilities. By providing a food genie with your food preferences, HumblePlum gives you what you want because it knows your spending habits, if you're a vegetarian, if you enjoy ethnic food or if you happen to enjoy an entire meal of hops and barley from time to time. Whether searching for a new restaurant around town or while traveling, HumblePlum can provide you with quality options. The online reservation section doesn't mean you have to go through the hassle of being put on hold for ten minutes only to show up and find out it's an hour wait to sit down. Make a reservation or look up a wait time at a restaurant or bar and you can show up, sit down and leave, never seeing a bill if after linking your account to a credit card. Theres no need for the waiter to make you miss the beginning of a concert or movie ever again. And after that concert you can instead search directly for a glass of wine and dessert, or beer and a burger and know exactly where you need to go. We have a lot more in the works as well with direct online ordering, group bar collaboration and discounts and also instant specials sent right to you while you're at your favorite drinking establishment.
While the site is currently being built, please keep checking back here for updates, announcements and other awesome thangs we may feel like posting. In the next few days we will also have a great looking landing page at humbleplum.com thanks to our awesome designer, Ian Paschal.
All of us working on HumblePlum hope that you are as excited as we are as we embark on our venture. Please feel free to comment, critique, or tell your friends/fam what we're up to and what we're about. We would love to know your thoughts, what you think needs work or if we're missing something jazzy that would make your life 10x better.
