Creates AllergyEats, The Fastest-Growing Source for Finding Allergy-Friendly Restaurants
BOSTON, MA – As a successful mutual fund manager at Fidelity Investments, Paul Antico was used to problem-solving during high pressure situations. But one night a few years ago, he faced a different sort of challenge – driving around for more than two hours with hungry, grumpy children in the backseat, searching for a restaurant that could accommodate his sons’ food allergies.
Frustrated with the inconsistencies in restaurants – some were willing to cook meals without dairy, nuts, eggs and his sons’ other “trigger foods,” and some were not – Antico wondered why there wasn’t a quick, easy online restaurant guide that indicated where food-allergic individuals could more comfortably eat.
So when he left his job at Fidelity in June, 2008, he immediately started developing AllergyEats (www.AllergyEats.com ), now the fastest growing source for finding allergy-friendly restaurants. This free, user-friendly website provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate the needs of food-allergic customers.
“As a parent of food allergic children, it’s important to know in advance whether a restaurant can accommodate my kids’ unique food requirements. AllergyEats provides a forum where food-allergic families can exchange feedback about their restaurant experiences,” said Paul Antico, Founder of AllergyEats.
AllergyEats lists well over 600,000 restaurants nationwide, which food allergic diners can rate. The site also offers information on restaurants’ menus (including gluten-free menus), allergen lists, nutrition information, certifications, web links, directions and more.
Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances can more comfortably eat.
To rate a restaurant on AllergyEats, users answer just three simple questions about their dining experiences, which takes less than a minute. Then, the answers are compiled into an objective “allergy-friendliness rating” that provides at-a-glance information about the “allergy friendliness” of specific restaurants, helping users find a comfortable place to dine. There’s also a section for written comments, which focuses specifically on food-allergy related information.
AllergyEats is searchable by geographic location, and includes maps and driving directions to restaurants nationally.
In the past two-and-a-half years, Antico has gone from a high-powered financial executive to a passionate food-allergy advocate. In addition to launching AllergyEats, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America New England Chapter and works to increase awareness and spread knowledge about food allergies within the food allergy community and to the general population.
Antico, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has always been determined and tenacious, graduating from the prestigious college with a near-perfect GPA and serving as President of the student body. He excelled at Fidelity, consistently surpassing industry benchmarks, and providing shareholders of the Small Cap Stock Fund with a 147.35% return versus the 67.84% they would have gotten in a Russell 2000 index fund over a period of 10 years.
“My ‘a-ha’ moment was driving around the suburbs of Boston for two hours, looking for a restaurant that could accommodate my sons’ food allergies, while they were complaining in the backseat because they were so hungry. I finally found a place that would serve my kids plain egg-free pasta, but was very frustrated by this ‘trial and error’ approach to finding places where we could comfortably eat,” Antico explained. “I realized that other food-allergic families faced similar challenges and decided to create a solution.”
Literally hungry for this new challenge, Antico works around the clock to promote and expand AllergyEats, asking for input and suggestions from food-allergy groups and individuals. Additionally, he’s encouraging restaurants to improve their food-allergy policies and menus, promoting the importance of staff training about food allergy issues and applauding restaurants that are especially allergy-friendly.
AllergyEats has received a number of endorsements from highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. Additionally, AllergyEats is forming exciting partnerships with other organizations, including restaurant chains, established food allergy non-profits and more.
Since its February launch, AllergyEats has exploded in popularity, demonstrating that the site meets a huge need within the food allergy community. AllergyEats has also experienced a tremendous surge of interest on its associated social media sites, with food-allergic “fans” regularly sharing ideas, recommendations and feedback on Facebook, Twitter and the AllergyEats Blog (www.allergyeats.com/blog). For more information, please visit www.AllergyEats.com.