They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but in the case of AllergyEats <link removed for compliance with FAS terms of service> the fastest growing source for finding allergy-friendly restaurants, it was Boston father Paul Antico that was inspired to take action. Antico, the father of five children – three of whom have severe food allergies – had a series of frustrating experiences dining in restaurants with his food-allergic sons, as some establishments wouldn’t prepare meals without dairy, nuts, eggs and his kids’ other “trigger foods.”

Antico realized that some restaurants were extremely accommodating, while others weren’t, and there was no way to know in advance which establishments would prepare meals that his sons could eat. He also realized that other food-allergic families were facing similar challenges. His solution: AllergyEats, a free website that provides valuable peer-based feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate the needs of food-allergic customers.

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 have more comfortably eaten.

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.

“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 and view information about restaurants across the street and across the country,” said Paul Antico, Founder of AllergyEats.

To rate a restaurant, users are encouraged to answer three simple questions about each of 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. 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.

A number of highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations and experts endorse AllergyEats, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and Chef/Advocate Ming Tsai.

“AllergyEats combines the best of Internet technology with peer-to-peer feedback to help people select restaurants that cater to individuals with food allergies – and to avoid the ones that won’t accommodate their needs,” Antico continued. “It’s exciting to see how well the food allergy community is galvanizing around AllergyEats. They understand the value of the site’s ratings and comments, which represents real experiences from real people.”

Antico recently quit his job as a successful mutual fund manager to become a passionate advocate for food allergy issues. In addition to starting AllergyEats, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, as well as its New England Chapter.

“I know from experience how frustrating, scary and even maddening food allergies can be. People with food allergies must be vigilant at all times, whether they’re at school, a birthday party or dining out at a restaurant,” Antico continued. “I realized that other food-allergic families were facing similar challenges, and I started AllergyEats to be a valuable resource for the millions of people in the food allergy and intolerance community.”

Since its February, 2010 launch, AllergyEats has exploded in popularity, growing to tens of thousands of users each month, demonstrating that the site meets a huge need within the food allergy community. AllergyEats has also experienced a tremendous surge of interest on its social media sites, with thousands of food-allergic “fans” regularly sharing ideas, recommendations and feedback on Facebook, Twitter and the popular AllergyEats Blog <link removed for compliance with FAS terms of service> Interest in AllergyEats has been accelerating dramatically as word spreads virally about the service AllergyEats provides to the food-allergic community.

For more information, please visit <link removed for compliance with FAS terms of service>

Hi Figgy -

Thank you for your nice comments about the giveaway. We're extremely excited about this and some other great news we have in the pipeline.

And yes, the Warning under my name is due to TOS violations. Let me not hide from providing details. When I recently found these boards, I was referring people who were asking questions about the allergy-friendliness of specific restaurants to consult AllergyEats, and I attached a link. I truly believe members would like to know about the service AllergyEats provides, so even after a few (what looked like automated) wanings, I continued to post these links. I never contacted the admins here to discuss. So after one too many, they rightly took action. You'll notice in the last post that they again removed my links (though I will say that in this case, I believe I was told I COULD put links on THIS one board - obviously, I might be mistaken). I'm hoping to work this out amicably with FAS as I have great appreciation for what these boards provide and I also believe that AllergyEats is a great resource that FAS members would want to know about.

In any case, in lieu of the links, to find the details of the promotion, one can either go to the AllergyEats Blog or click on the Press Releases section of the main AllergyEats site. A link to the actual contest is prominent on the AllergyEats site as well.

Getting to your questions. The "business model" currently is all costs, self-incurred. Yes, it is expensive, but it is an investment. I have a future revenue plan in place, but it will NOT involve payments from users. I plan to keep the site free to users forever. I hope to at least breakeven some day if not start to make a little money back, but for now goal #'s 1, 2, 3... are to provide a great service to users.

I don't have restaurant advertisers at the moment, though I obviously do have three gift card donors. Why would a restaurant support us without a quid pro quo, you ask? These restaurants are so confident in their food allergy-friendliness that they want to put their name out in front of diners, extremely confident that they'll receive good ratings. One restaurant is even handing AllergyEats cards with the check to food allergy parties. The beauty, as the President of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association pointed out in an interview, is that restaurant don't have to tout their allergy-friendliness themselves (which some of their lawyers fear) - AllergyEats' peer ratings do that for them.

The integrity of the allergy-friendliness ratings is the core of AllergyEats. If I were to compromise that, then what's the point. You'll note that the current gift card donors ALREADY had strong ratings. That's why I contacted them, not the other way around. I wouldn't contact, for example, Applebee's as I think that it would be a disservice to the community, based on the community's own comments.

Part of the eventual revenue model does involve ads from restaurants, but again my expectation is that those who are strong in dealing with food-allergic patrons will want to get that word out. And the revenue model goes well beyond just ads and just restaurants. Again, however, to compromise the integrity of the database is simply not an option.

Your questions about "ratings fraud" from an individual or restaurateur are spot on. We studied this issue closely before launcing and have built safeguards into the system to alert us to any such issue. You'll understand if I don't elaborate. But again, note the extremely high sensitivity to the integrity of the data, which you obviously recognize as well.

I hope I answered all of your questions and addressed, as honestly as I could, the disappointing Warning under my name. If I didn't address everything, please feel free to reply.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the Great Gift Card Giveaway (and other specials that will periodically come up on the site, such as the Allergy Apparel free shipping)! With all of these giveaways and specials, we don't ask for any compensation - we ask for all savings to be passed onto our users.

Best, Paul

"I thought, 'Wouldn't it be nice when you go to a travel destination to immediately know where the places are that we'd have a better chance of having a comfortable experience?'" Paul recalls.

Since nothing existed, he decided to create the guide himself. Serendipitously, about a week after he began the arduous task of figuring out exactly how to create such a guide, he met the executive director of the New England Chapter for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). The timing couldn't have been more ideal. He had the idea, the passion, the energy and the drive, but he didn't have a model or a connection in the field. She went on to become Paul's mentor of sorts, offering advice and support throughout the process. He has since joined the board of her organization.

That process, which entailed, "Putting the idea together, getting consultations, hiring developers and figuring out where to get the data of all the restaurants," took him 20 months. "When I first started out, I thought I was going to do the development on my own and soon realized I was so far out of my league it was ridiculous," says Paul.

. . .

Recognition: AllergyEats has been endorsed by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). It was also an Editor's Pick on Best Allergy Sites.

. . .

Paul's Best Advice: "Take time during the development phase to make sure you get it right. Think about how the user will react to it. When I'm looking for feedback I don't want to hear how great it is; I'm really looking for the criticism. A lot of people are reluctant because I've taken a lot of time to build it, but the site was really built on a lot of constructive criticism. I knew what the ultimate goal was and I stayed true to that, but the path to get there adjusted a little bit as people had better ideas than I did. There's no way one person has the monopoly on great ideas. Plan far in advance, find some experts and incorporate their opinions."

You'll notice in the last post that they again removed my links (though I will say that in this case, I believe I was told I COULD put links on THIS one board - obviously, I might be mistaken).

May 11th, 2011 at 02:11 pm, AEPaul wrote:


I'm a little confused. I can see the problem when AEPaul was posting on the other boards, but I thought that he was allowed to post in the commercial section as he mentioned above. I have some reservations about his web site, but he doesn't seem like a spammer in the traditional sense. Could the banning be explained a little better?

Hi Figgy -
And yes, the Warning under my name is due to TOS violations. Let me not hide from providing details. When I recently found these boards, I was referring people who were asking questions about the allergy-friendliness of specific restaurants to consult AllergyEats, and I attached a link. I truly believe members would like to know about the service AllergyEats provides, so even after a few (what looked like automated) wanings, I continued to post these links. I never contacted the admins here to discuss. So after one too many, they rightly took action. You'll notice in the last post that they again removed my links (though I will say that in this case, I believe I was told I COULD put links on THIS one board - obviously, I might be mistaken). I'm hoping to work this out amicably with FAS

Those responses generally demonstrate a sincere desire to address concerns/questions, not to deflect them with more self-promotion, nor to castigate FAS members who ask such questions or express individual dissenting opinions.