New restaurants added to the AllergyEats database and other milestones!

Good news from AllergyEats!  We have added over 57,000 new restaurant listings to the AllergyEats database.  Total listings are well over 600,000 now.

Many of you have sent messages during these first three short months asking why you couldn’t find certain restaurants you wanted to rate.  That should be much less of a problem now.  Please consider going back to the main AllergyEats site (www.allergyeats.com) and adding these ratings.  Every new rating dramatically increases the value of AllergyEats as a tool for our entire food allergy and intolerance community.

Further, given the frequent and rapid opening of new restaurants, AllergyEats will now be updating its database many times each year.  That means you should find new restaurants more quickly and easily!

We are still in the process of automating the deletion of restaurants that have closed and more quickly incorporating changes to existing restaurant information.  You can expect to see that in the coming months.  Our goal is to constantly maintain the integrity of the database to the highest degree possible.

Other notable achievements:

• In just three short months, AllergyEats has surpassed 8000 unique visitors and 50,000 page views.  What does that mean for you, the user?  The greater the visibility of AllergyEats, the more people will become users and members, which will drive more ratings, ultimately benefitting all of us.  Please help us by spreading the word about AllergyEats to others you know with food allergies or intolerances.

• The number of AllergyEats members, social media followers, and, most importantly, the number of restaurant ratings not only continues to grow dramatically, but has begun to accelerate!  (Thank you members!!!  YOU are vastly improving YOUR site!)  Geographic pockets of strength are beginning to emerge, the most impressive example being Boston.  The metro Boston area now has roughly 150 restaurants rated and over 200 ratings!  We fully expect this kind of viral growth to appear in other markets over time, and in fact it has begun to do so in various regions already.

• AllergyEats search results now include chain-level ratings for those restaurants that are part of a regional or national chain.  In addition, allergy-specific ratings have also begun to appear, though they are limited in number at the moment until enough individuals with a specific allergy rate the same restaurant.

• 150 chains now have menus, allergen lists, gluten-free menus, nutrition info, and other publically available information included with their listings.

• AllergyEats search results now include links to the websites of virtually every restaurant that has one!  Therefore, even without a rating, each listing includes much information of use before going to a restaurant — the website, phone #, and address of most, plus menus and other info for many.

• While AllergyEats already denotes those restaurants certified as gluten-friendly under the GFRAP program from the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG), and those participating in GIG’s Chef-to-Plate Program, more certifications can be expected soon.

AllergyEats continues to strive to make your site as valuable a tool as possible with the vision of more comfortable dining for everyone. Your help is vital! Not only do we continue to strongly encourage you to rate all your dining experiences on the main AllergyEats site (www.allergyeats.com), but we continue to listen to and evaluate your feedback in consideration of future modifications of AllergyEats.

AllergyEats is designed to benefit all of us – the entire food allergy and intolerance community.  Please let us know how you would like to see your site improved by filling out the Contact form on the AllergyEats home page (or clicking on the Feedback tab at the top of this page).  As we continue to gather more data, we will do whatever we can to accommodate the desires of you, our users.

Thank you for your support of AllergyEats!

1. Jamie @Allergiesandme.com Says:
   May 26th, 2010 at 8:58 am

   Congratulations Paul! I know this has taken alot of work by you and your team, but well worth it! You are doing a great service to the Food Restricted community and I am sure everyone appreciates you. Good Luck.

2. AEPaul Says:
   May 26th, 2010 at 8:00 pm

   Thank you Jamie. Keep up the great work yourself!