What

Online ordering for takeout food is the hottest U.S. restaurant trend at the 2007 Southwest Food EXPO. Americans ate an average of 81 meals inside restaurants in 2006-- but ordered 127 meals to go, and the trend is expanding in 2007. Irving-based Resercom predicts that by 2008, online ordering for takeout food will be as commonplace as drive-through restaurant lanes are today.

For more about the national takeout trend, see USA Today's June 12, 2007, article titled At restaurants, takeout takes off: USA Today.

Who

Busy parents, office workers, soccer teams, you name it-- they're all looking for a quicker way to get dinner or lunch on the table.

Irving-based Resercom provides online ordering for more than 40 Dallas-Fort Worth area restaurants and will give demonstrations at EXPO, the second largest food service show in the nation, in July.

Why

Online ordering is convenient for anyone with a computer, cell phone or device with Internet access. It allows customers to order and pay for takeout food online, so they don't wait in line at a register when picking up an order. It reduces takeout mistakes because online orders go to the kitchen exactly as you submit them-- extra sauce, hold the mayo, etc. Everyone attending an office lunch meeting can choose exactly what they want online and have it all delivered at the same time. And online ordering cuts food waste, so restaurants don't have to "eat" orders that never get picked up.
When

The 2007 Southwest Food EXPO continues Monday, June 25 and Tuesday, June 26. Resercom will demonstrate and answer questions about online ordering from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, or by appointment. Or visit resercom.com

Where

Dallas Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St., downtown Dallas. Visit Resercom at Southwest Food EXPO booth #2257. Or arrange to see how online ordering works at local restaurants throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.