CEO Sonny Mayugba expects BiteClub.com to become a social networking site where people in the restaurant industry “can connect professionally and express themselves personally.”

“We’re trying to be the MySpace of the restaurant industry, where servers, chefs and bartenders have a chance to communicate, and as an opportunity for businesses to create profiles,” Paragary says.

Paragary, whose main business is the Paragary Restaurant Group (PRG) based in Sacramento, Calif., says BiteClub.com, which is live in its beta form, will have everything the most popular social networking sites have, including blogs, forums and event announcements. A job bank will allow job hunters and seekers to post information to others within the industry. Users can create groups on specific topics, such as the “California Pizza Historians” group created by Paragary himself.

“This is not simply exclusive to people working in the industry,” Paragary says. “A lot of people are calling themselves ‘foodies’ or ‘restaurant goers,’ and they just love to attend restaurants and turn people on to holes in the wall. This will work for big, new places, but also for great little finds in neighborhoods.”
    
Getting Started
The idea came to Paragary and partners CEO Sonny Mayugba, Webmaster Mark Braden and Director of Development Darius Anderson during a conversation about how helpful a social networking site based on the restaurant industry would be. “The restaurant industry is built by cool, creative people,” Mayugba says. “This is a place where they can express themselves. Once they are done serving or cooking, they have a whole life.

“Here, they can connect professionally and express themselves personally.”

The partners launched the site this summer and allowed word-of-mouth marketing to take its course. So far, Bite Club has nearly 700 active, registered members that range from daily users to others who check in to find something to do. Marketing efforts to boost the population include appealing to culinary schools in California.

The next phase of marketing revolves around appealing to students in culinary schools throughout the state and the country. In January, Bite Club will partner with Patron Tequila and Miller Brewing Co. for launch parties throughout the United States. These parties will be at various clubs in numerous major metropolitan markets where dining out is a priority, according to Paragary. “We’re getting some help from sales people that are distributors of these brands, and we’ll let bartenders, servers and cooks that are having this party try and get a buzz going,” Paragary adds.

The site itself is still in its beta stage, but Mayugba has some big plans for its customization. BiteClub.com will have “intelligent smart-matching,” which will automatically match users with topics that match interests in their profiles. The site will also have community-generated news, an “ankle biters” kids section and “Bite Back,” which will give industry employees a chance to review customers.

About PRG
Paragary opened his first establishment, a bar named Parapow Palace in Sacramento, at the age of 22 in 1969. In 1974, he opened his first restaurant named The Arbor, an Italian eatery. Today, PRG operates 10 stores, including Paragary’s Bar and Oven, three Café Bernardo locations, Esquire Grill, Spataro Restaurant and Bar, Blue Cue Billiards, Centro Cocina Mexicana and R15.

“We are probably considered the No. 1 multi-concept operators in Sacramento, and we’ve been doing it a number of years,” Paragary says. “We’re very proud of our history here of introducing Sacramentans to new concepts and products, and we want to continue to be able to do that.”
    
Serving California
Paragary believes quality and service expectations throughout California have increased a great deal since he entered the industry almost 40 years ago. The competition has also increased since 1969.

But operating in the Sacramento Valley has had its perks, as well. For instance, Paragary says access to fresh produce is better than most regions of the nation. “We’re in the backyard of great produce, so we reach out to individual farmers,” he adds. “It is a very short pickup truck ride to get really wonderful produce, and we’re trying to do the same thing with fish. We get as much from local waters as we can.”

PRG offers ongoing training to ensure that the staffs at every location are knowledgeable to answer customer questions. One thing PRG can’t train, however, is people skills, and PRG makes sure it has the friendliest staffs available. That’s why, he says, “We are hiring pleasant, friendly, outgoing people to work, especially in the front of the house.”