A new website created by a Kent State alumnus is going to bring new food options to Kent State students. 

Local Munchies, founded by 2011 Kent State graduate Nate Jones, will be a site that students can go on to see all of the food options in the area and even order at their own convenience.  

The website has been a work in progress for the last couple of years and is finally getting ready to launch near the end of March. The delivery options will come at a later time, but students can expect restaurants such as Chipotle, Fresco and Dave’s Cosmic Subs to be delivered to them when the site

is launched.

Jones graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship and said the idea came to him his freshman year.

“I was always wondering what was around to eat as a freshman,” he said. “The foundation of it is to have every restaurant in the area have their menus online and we’re looking to put all of that on the site. We’re looking into starting delivery and other awesome options for our customers. I’m sure almost every student would like food such as Chipotle delivered to their house.”

The model Local Munchies uses will be easy for every restaurant to use, and Jones said the only problem he’s facing now is getting in contact with people who are in charge of big franchises.

“Basically, we go out to the restaurants in Kent with the intentions of meeting the owners or decision-makers and developing a relationship with them,” he said. “Right now, we have Dave’s Cosmic Subs signed up, with contracts in several other restaurants’ hands. We should be able to accept online ordering next week if all goes well.”

Jones said he hopes the delivery option will be a huge success among the student body, including students who live off campus.

“I can’t wait to get online ordering up and going,” he said. “We’re going to try to get 20 restaurants up on the site by the end of the semester, and we’re also trying to expand to more campuses in the area by the end of the year. I’m really excited to get everything going and see the reaction because I know as a student I would have loved everything about this.”

Jones asked one of his long-time friends, Ben Ciobrek, to help out with programming for the Local Munchies site. Ciobrek has been hard at work for more than a year and said he is excited to launch his project.

“We made a lot more progress than I ever imagined we would have,” he said. “I would love to give students at Kent State great options for great food whenever they want it, and I think that we’re going to be the best at providing that for them.”

The website will be a paradise for students who are too lazy to drive downtown and get food, junior pre-business management major Jackie Roberson said.

“Let’s be honest, students are pretty lazy,” she said. “They want everything to come [to] them, so you have everything on one site at your own convenience. I can’t imagine something like this not becoming huge at Kent State.”

Jones said that he stuck alongside his idea through all of the obstacles, and all of the hard work is about to pay off.

“It takes a lot of work,” he said. “I spent countless hours working on everything because there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes things that people definitely don’t know about. If you have an idea that you think is great then stick with it. Don’t give up because everything is achievable.” 

Contact Justin Graci at [email protected].