FluxExpress — a new online food ordering pilot program founded by Thomas Cecil ’17 and Ian Bateman ’18 — will launch in the next ten days. Currently, the site will allow students to order online from nine restaurants. In the spring, the two hope to allow students to use DBA to purchase food from off-campus restaurants, Cecil and Bateman said.
Currently, anyone with a valid Dartmouth email address will be able to place online delivery or pickup orders from Boloco, C&A Pizza, Everything But Anchovies, Jewel of India, Orient, Thai Orchid and Tuk Tuk Thai, as well as pickup orders from Base Camp Café and Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery, Cecil and Bateman said.
All the restaurants the pilot provides delivery services for already deliver. Credit cards, debit cards and cash are the current methods of payment, Bateman said.
When you place an order through the website, you can specify the location and when you want to receive it, he said. In addition, all first-time users will receive ten percent off their initial purchases.
Currently, Base Camp, Jewel of India, Lou’s, Orient, Thai Orchid and Tuk Tuk Thai do not offer online ordering.
Cecil and Bateman are both members of the men’s heavyweight crew team and started working together on the program this past November after attending a Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network meeting. They wanted to build something that they had full authority over, Cecil said.
They ultimately decided to create this pilot program because they felt that while Dartmouth Dining Services provides a wide variety of food options for students, they wanted to increase choices for students, Cecil said.
“It was the most realistic and immediately beneficial thing we could do,” Cecil said.
Jeremy Lewin ’19 said that he thinks the program will help increase food choices on campus.
“There is certainly a dearth of different food options around here so any tool that helps Dartmouth students maximize the options that do exist is definitely a welcome innovation,” Lewin said.
Cecil is in charge of handling meetings with DDS and collaborating with them on product development. Bateman has concentrated on developing the coding software for the site, he said.
In addition to allowing DBA as a payment, Cecil and Bateman also want to provide a more accurate estimated delivery time and a feature that enables restaurants to update customers when they are nearby next term.
Cecil added that students probably will not be able to use meal swipes off-campus and DDS will largely be responsible for determining whether this change will take place.
Students expressed excitement about possibility of using DBA at off-campus restaurants.
“I’m very excited,” Caleb Smith ’19 said. “It opens up so many options that we didn’t have access to before. I can’t wait.”
Both Rachel Martin ’19 and Thuy-Vy Nguyen ’19 said they will use the program for delivery and eventually for DBA as payment when it launches.
Bateman and Cecil’s biggest obstacle was creating a website that updated all restaurant services in real time, Bateman said. They have been doing several local tests on the program.
Cecil said that committing to one idea and proceeding with it was an obstacle. Finding a good partner like Bateman who was willing to commit as much time as Cecil was also a challenge.
“You can’t do it by yourself,” Cecil said.
Cecil and Bateman are enthusiastic about the future of the program.
“This is our version one,” he said. “We have big goals for version two.”
In the future, Cecil and Bateman want the program to provide delivery for restaurants like Base Camp Café and Lou’s that do not currently offer that option and optimize delivery for around-the-clock ordering.
They also want to expand their affiliation to all restaurants in Hanover and some in Lebanon, and offer people the ability to search for menu items from all restaurants.
Bateman said that he hopes to be able to offer loyalty programs, in which ordering from a particular restaurant with frequency will result in discounts.
The restaurants are looking forward to the program and have been supportive and responsive in the process, Bateman said.
“They’re really excited,” he said. “This is a good thing for them, they’re looking forward to increasing traffic.”
Base Camp Café owner Bhola Pandey said his restaurant is eager to participate in the program and grateful that students are looking for ways to support local businesses.
Cecil said his hope is that students continues to use the program after he graduates.
“I hope the program contributes greatly to student life after we graduate and has a lasting impact on the College,” Cecil said.
DDS did not respond for comment by press time.
