BuyWithMe: $20 for $40 at Foundry

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I've wanted this for ages and ages: $20 for $40 at Foundry on Elm. It has some weird restrictions, though! You can buy, and use, as many as you'd like AND use as many per table as you’d like. It's for sunday brunch and Sunday, Mondya and Tuesday lunch and Dinner, but not the rest of the week or V-Day, and it's not usable for drinks (because there's always a question).

Comments

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Annnnnnnnnnd here's where I erase my comment and exit the thread because no one wants to hear my thoughts on another upscale bar and eatery in Davis Square. :P

I will say, though, that those are pretty lame restrictions.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

i can't wait to open my upscale burrito restaurant in the spring. i think the market is *ripe* for it.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I very much enjoyed Foundry and, like the fact that there's a place with such impressive beer selection in Davis, but I agree that the restrictions are lame as hell and I will not be buying the coupon as a result.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I've seen the crowd from Weds-Sat, though. do you really want the staff having to deal with vouchers and the increased traffic then?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Redbones has a fabulous beer selection.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Another place.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Sacco's/Flatbread is surprisingly pretty OK as well

(they also have some vegan pizzas)

[alphacygni]

It's a perfectly reasonable set of restrictions. In return for coming in during the less busy times, when they have excess capacity, you get a discount. It's a fine business idea. If that doesn't suit your plans for visiting, you aren't someone this deal is aimed at. This is a new, higher-tech version of the Early Bird Special, in a way.

As for not being good for drinks, none of these coupons/vouchers should be. That would violate our (unusual, to be sure) state laws forbidding any sorts of discounts on price of served alcohol, a.k.a. the reason there is no Happy Hour in Massachusetts, unless it involves cheap chicken wings instead of cheap beer.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

you used to only be able to spend up to half the voucher (or up to whatever you paid for it) on alcohol (in general for the groupons), then the food is "free", but lately all the coupon sites have been ignoring that. It's probably difficult to enforce by the state.

Personally, I think it's kind of a poor choice on the Foundry's part to use groupon at all. Just wasting money.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

hmm. unless you know what their books look like, Sunday through Tuesday, I don't know that you know it's a poor choice. They made the decision for a reason, presumably (since they're pretty savvy).

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'll put my marketing knowledge ahead of that of a generic snob-pub, thx :p

[thespian.livejournal.com]

and ahead of the Ken Kelly, who's been keeping the Independent and the Precinct thriving in this economy, and started a third which seems to be doing decently.

Really, show me your successful gastropub if you're going to claim you know best.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

you get awfully defensive awfully quickly about a lot of petty things :P

[davelew.livejournal.com]

A place like Not Your Average Joe's is generic. The Foundry is locally owned, has clearly put some thought into their beer list, and actually handles the beer (especially the cask ale) properly. I'm not sure they would pass a CAMRA inspection, but they come closer than any other beer joint in the area.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I suspect that because of the heavy restrictions, it may in fact make them money.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

i dunno, it's hard to make money when you are immediately losing $30+ (groupon itself takes more than half the actual cost of the groupon, typically)

[thespian.livejournal.com]

please note that this is not a groupon, it's a BuyWithMe offer. Groupon has very different terms (BWM pays at the conclusion of the offer, for all sales, unlike Groupon, which pays each month for redeemed usage). Groupon sells more, if you're long term incoming cash; BuyWithMe gives you a bulk payment that's handy if you're, oh, looking at development costs for adding a speakeasy under the Gorin building.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

ahh, neat to know--i sort of mush all these into the same thing

though i just removed my subscription to groupon due to the offensiveness of their superbowl ad

[thespian.livejournal.com]

every single superbowl ad I've seen this year except for the tiny darth vader one has offended me. seriously, this year was filled with sad LOOK AT ME!!! posturing.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the cost is to them if, say, someone uses it to carefully buy $40 worth of food and nothing else. I expect their markup is reasonably high and they are not actually losing anywhere near $30 even if they only take in $10. But most users will also buy drinks, where the profit margin is likely even higher, and of course most people will either over or undershoot the $40.

Anyway, I'm not buying one, either, because the restrictions make it not worth my while, but I expect they put some thought into a situation that would actually make it worthwhile for them.

Note how soon they expire, too. I expect many will not be used in time.