AN online “directory” for Port Elizabeth’s best restaurants, cocktail bars or coffee shops is now only a click away, thanks to 18-year-old entrepreneur, Kyle Prinsloo, who matriculated from Grey High School last year.

This website, called Food & Drink (F&D), provides all the information that a potential customer to a restaurant wants to know “by breaking the information down into easy to read, beneficial information, without getting too complicated with unnecessary info or advertisements,” Kyle described his website.

The idea of F&D came when Kyle’s visiting relatives from overseas searched the web for local restaurants to support. Instead they were left disappointed on how “uninformative and user-friendly” the web was. “I thought of making a site that stood out from the rest by making the core focus around convenience,” Kyle explained.

So on December 2 last year Kyle and his partner, who wishes to remain anonymous, started the F&D website and to date the site has been very successful, “with good feedback from the public so far with more views and positive comments each day,” he said.

The PE Express recently spent some time with Kyle to find out more about the F&D website, his plans for the website and a bit more about the man behind the F&D website.

What is the main aim of the website and who is it for?

The main aim and the objectives are to become a prominent web-based advertising company within South Africa for the restaurant industry, but at the same time to keep improving the website to make it as user- friendly and informative as possible for the public. The website has no restrictions for the target market there are restaurants listed for every age group.

What sets your website apart from others?

There are some good restaurant sites in South Africa, but F&D provides exactly what an individual wants to know about a restaurant by displaying the information in a user-friendly manner. Many sites are too cluttered with too much advertisements and information.

Another unique aspect that we offer is a voucher. Every restaurant has a different option for which the voucher can be used. The voucher can either be printed or you could display the voucher on your mobile to the business owner or manager to receive your 10% discount. It’s that simple.

How do you plan on promoting and marketing your website?

Our long term marketing strategy is brilliant, but for the next three months we will be advertising with flyers, T-shirts, posters, social networks and on Bay FM.

How often do you update the website?

We update the site weekly with improvements made on a regular basis.

How do you decide which restaurants to feature, or do they pay a fee to be featured on the website?

We don’t approach the average restaurants we want to be the best, so we only list the best. They do, however, pay a fee each month.

What are your personal and business goals?

My personal goal for the future is to be successful in my family and friend relationships, as well as to achieve success financially. My business goals would obviously be to make the F&D name a well-known brand within South Africa and to create good business relations on the way to that success.

Where do you see the site going within the next two years?

By the end of this year we would have branched out to Cape Town and by the end of 2013 we should be more national if not 100% national!

Visit http://www.foodanddrink.co.za/ for more information