Loic Beuzit and Ash Greenaway are two Tunbridge Wells foodies with a vision.
The two recently launched a Crowdfunder to finance their new project “Eat Like A Local”, a website dedicated to helping people have the perfect eating-out experience in Tunbridge Wells. Their Crowdfunder had an initial target of £10,000, and in under a month they had reached and surpassed this goal.
We chatted with Loic and Ash to find out more about why Eat Like A Local will be so good for the town.
Can you tell me a little about yourselves and what prompted you to start this website?
We’re old school friends now back in our hometown, having both lived and worked abroad. Earlier this year, we found deciding where to eat for a long overdue catch-up more difficult than we’d anticipated. It wasn’t easy to quickly see different menus, specials, and opening times without trawling through reviews or navigating various separate websites. Using review platforms, we were struck by the level of inaccuracy and lack of information.
How will this website benefit the local community?
Our site will only feature independent restaurants which are the lifeblood of our high streets. Across the country, town centres are becoming homogenous, dull, and dominated by the chains. We need to level the playing field by giving these gems a different way to market themselves. Eat Like a Local will replicate trusted word-of-mouth recommendations which you only get from local foodies. It will hopefully help communities thrive by encouraging more individual, independent businesses which create employment and encourage tourism.
Were you surprised when you hit your target so quickly?
We were overwhelmed by the support from friends, family but also complete strangers who loved the idea. The council and local press were also very supportive, as are the restaurants.
What are your long-term goals with Eat Like A Local?
Now we have the funds to build a website and app, we’ve found a great team who are innovative, customer-focussed, and who share our passion for the project. Once we can prove the concept in Tunbridge Wells, we’d like to work with foodies across the country who want to support the fantastic and unique restaurants we have in every corner of the UK. We want to take the risk and time out of finding great places to eat, whatever the budget or style of cuisine.