The new online Morgan Hill Dining guide, providing a list of
local restaurants and their menus, daily specials, and
entertainment options goes live today.
The new online Morgan Hill Dining guide, providing a list of local restaurants and their menus, daily specials, and entertainment options goes live Friday.
For diners looking for the best way to spend the night out on the town, the Web site provides a “one-stop” list of choices, complete with information about the participating locations and special offerings, according to Steve Staloch, publisher of the Morgan Hill Times. He said existing popular restaurant sites serve national or regional, rather than local, markets.
“Morgan Hill Dining is an exclusively Morgan Hill site and truly a one-stop not only for folks interested in local dining, but what to do when they get here,” Staloch said. “Dining and entertainment are usually synonymous with a night out on the town, and I think the Web site enhances that experience.”
For restaurant owners, the Web site – located at www.morganhilldining.com – will offer an opportunity to reach potential customers from out of town who otherwise would not patronize Morgan Hill restaurants.
“We don’t want to preach just to the local choir but to the outside world, where our goal is to attract dollars to the local economy,” Staloch continued. “As our retailers know, if you’re not attracting new customers, you’re business is going backward.”
The site is designed for user-provided content, so establishments listed thereon will have the “flexibility” to add daily specials, entertainment news or new menu items, Staloch said. It gives Morgan Hill businesses an advantage in online promotion, which is often difficult for restaurants that already have their own individual sites.
The site provides a new self-promotional opportunity for restaurants, adding an easy-to-use interface for diners who are looking for a variety of choices.
“We show all of the participating restaurants, but also promote the site so that everyone is realizing the benefit of that promotion as opposed to each individual restaurant attempting to do it separately,” Staloch said.
One restaurant listed on the guide is Huntington Station, formerly known as Glory Days. Manager Shari Shepard agreed the guide is a unique way to serve the community as a whole, rather than just single interests that are in competition. Plus, she wants to use it as a way to let everyone know that her restaurant at 17230 Monterey Road is the same as it has always been, despite the recently changed name.
“We’re just trying to get some new customers, as well as get some old customers back,” Shepard said. “And we hope it will help the community. We want to see the whole community do well.”
When it opens, Morgan Hill Dining will also offer a weekly drawing, via e-mail, for a free meal at a participating restaurant, Staloch added.
More information on how to participate in the Morgan Hill Dining guide is available on the Web site.
