Think about it: How often does it rain in Williamsburg? How often do students not want to trek outdoors for food — or get dressed, for that matter? To combat these age-old problems at the College of William and Mary,l Marshall-Wythe School of Law student Stefanie Swift J.D. ’13 launched a Williamsburg franchise of OrderUp, an online service that allows users to order food for take out or delivery.
Swift said she frequently used OrderUp as an undergraduate at Penn State University, where the company started under a different name.
“I didn’t know about many [food] options even though I’ve lived in Williamsburg for a few years now,” Swift said. “I wanted to make a place where everything available is brought together.”
The site currently lists 13 restaurants that deliver and 17 that offer take out. According to Swift, most restaurants deliver their own food, but OrderUp Williamsburg also acts as a third party delivery service for some locations.
Swift feels businesses could see a boost in sales by joining the website.
“We want the wanderer — someone who is hungry but doesn’t know what they want — to use OrderUp. That’s a selling point for restaurants to be listed on the site,” Swift said.
OrderUp Williamsburg currently has two employees. Lisa Kindred ’13 met Swift while working at the DOG Street Pub and joined the company as a marketing intern.
“I helped create an ongoing marketing plan,” Kindred said. “I also research events to promote and restaurants we want to partner with. Promoting on campus and the greater Williamsburg area is also a big part of my job … We have tabled at Sadler and the Terrace, where we pass out fliers and koozies.”
Kindred said she gained marketing experience while working as a brand representative for Net Clarify, a service that evaluates social media accounts for offensive or inappropriate content. Rather than majoring in marketing, Kindred is pursuing an English degree at the College.
“I think my English classes have helped me with this job,” Kindred said. “Writing papers definitely has taught me how to organize my thoughts and think strategically. … Formulating a thesis and writing a marketing plan are actually pretty similar.”
Taylor Hastings J.D. ’13, another law student, also works on promotion for the company and runs its social media accounts.
Mike Crumplar ’15 praised the site’s concept and hopes it will develop further.
“It’s nice to have more options for food other than WaWa or Dominos, and the delivery service was convenient,” Crumplar said. “But I’d like to see them add more restaurants beyond the typical Italian and Chinese delivery places.”