Earlier this year TIME Magazine released its list of America’s Best Food Cities. Of the 20 cities featured, Georgia’s capital placed 4th. Having such a robust rolodex of restaurants and culinary events is a foodie’s smorgasbord, but a real nightmare to navigate.
ATL-based CulinaryLocal helps food enthusiasts discover and participate in memorable culinary experiences by keeping users up-to-date on local food happenings. We recently chatted with the company’s founder to learn more.
Founded by Robert Neidlinger, “CulinaryLocal is a curated marketplace for food and drink events. If you’re looking for a date or girls night out event, you’ll find a great selection of wine events, cooking classes or dining experiences to choose from,” explains Neidlinger. “It’s difficult for people who are really into food to find and register for quality events. There is so much noise you have to sift through, between the $5 drink specials and 50% dinner deals, to try and find food and drink activities that are worth your time. Atlanta has so many phenomenal events going on, it’s virtually impossible to not miss out on amazing experiences unless you are signed up to everyone’s newsletter and bookmark a ton of websites.”
“There a million restaurants, thousands of cooking schools and wine bars, and hundreds of food tour and culinary vacation operators in the United States. The majority of businesses in the hospitality space generates some percentage of their revenue through events,” he continues. “Until now, consumers have been left to discover events on their own. There are very few vertically focused marketplaces that help people discover events suited to their particular interests. This is where we believe there is a strong need for CulinaryLocal.”
While there are many businesses that offer ticket registrations like Eventbrite or Brown Paper Tickets, there are very few that focus in the culinary space. On top of this, CulinaryLocal is a content driven business that aims to educate its users. “In addition to event listings, businesses get their own branded store front that features only their events. “We produce popular weekly and weekend food and drink event roundups that promote the top events around Atlanta,” says Neidlinger. “We also produce a weekly newsletter that features the top events in the CulinaryLocal marketplace. The Cook’s Warehouse, Vino Venue, Pine Street Market, and Savi Provisions all promote their events on CulinaryLocal. We are also partnered with the Atlanta Food Bloggers Society. Many of their members have become CulinaryLocal Ambassadors and attend events for free in return for producing content about their experiences.”
A Georgia native, Robert grew up in Savannah and moved to Atlanta in 1982. “I love this city and I’m proud of our cultural diversity,” he asserts. “Atlanta has evolved into a true foodie destination over the past 20 years and CulinaryLocal provides people the ability to engage at an intimate level with the wonderful local businesses that offer amazing culinary experiences.”
If you’re a foodie and are looking to join the party, CulinaryLocal is hiring. “We’re an early stage startup and have two internship positions available,” says Neidlinger. “We’re looking for people who have social media and content marketing experience to join our team.”
Follow CulinaryLocal on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culinarylocal
Twitter: https://twitter.com/culinary_local
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/CulinaryLocal/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+CulinarylocalMarketplace/posts
