By Esther Lauaki
A Point Cook tech-head has created a website making it easier for residents to support local restaurants and cafes as they settle into life in lockdown because of the COVID-19 crisis.
James Morgan last week launched the Pointcook.delivery site, designed to show residents which food outlets are open and provide a delivery service in the area.
Mr Morgan said the idea was born out of his desire to help businesses that were doing it tough.
“It’s a mobile-friendly website designed to put all of the different ordering and delivery services of our local restaurants in one place, because at the moment there’s so many different services in the market it can be hard to find the one you need,” he said.
“It can be a pain to go looking for them.”
While he works full-time in telecommunications, Mr Morgan also runs a television production business and said he understands the strain that employees and employers are under.
“My telco work is as busy as ever, but television production is in nuclear winter so I’m simultaneously very lucky and a little unlucky,” he said.
“As a small business owner myself I know how badly a lot of our local traders will be hurting, and after seeing so many people on social media [residents groups] wanting to support local establishments but not being sure where to order – I thought it would be great if someone aggregated them in one place.
“I decided to be that ‘someone’… Two nights of work later it was ready for launch.
“It cost me a couple of hundred dollars to buy the domain and set it up but that’s pretty much it.
“In the first weekend the site has helped connect customers to local businesses more than 1000 times, which is really encouraging.
“I will just be happy if this website has helped make the difference for even one of our local businesses between customers knowing how to find them and not, and thereby them still being around by the end of this crisis.
“It would be pretty sad to emerge from all of this and have nowhere to go for a celebratory dinner, or nowhere to order a birthday cake from.”
Any business that would like to be listed should email help@pointcook.delivery.
Details: pointcook.delivery/
