News

NetWorld Alliance acquires media properties QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com

July 17, 2005

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Web publisher NetWorld Alliance announced the June 1 acquisition of Oklahoma City-based QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com from a private trust managed by BMG Consulting.

According to a news release, BMG's Paul Barron founded QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com in 1997 to provide restaurant operators with tools and resources to harness the power of online commerce. In 2001, Barron, a restaurant innovation expert, focused on publishing industry news and trends, a move that made QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com key destination points for thousands of restaurant executives and operators each month. With more than 9,000 members and thousands of visits each month, QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com continue to grow in popularity in the foodservice community.

Barron has dedicated more than 20 years to restaurant technology, marketing and operations improvement, both as a consultant and a leading executive for technology companies within the restaurant industry. He has pioneered many innovations in drive-thru, automated order entry, credit card automation and POS technology improvements.

Barron will continue to guide the Web sites as chief operating officer and co-publisher of NetWorld's foodservice division and executive vice president of NetWorld Alliance.

NetWorld Alliance also owns PizzaMarketplace.com, an online news, trends and resource site for pizzeria operators.

NetWorld Alliance plans to develop QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com into robust venues, leading the editorial coverage in these high growth areas. The relationship between NetWorld Alliance, QSRweb.com and FastCasual.com will be mutually beneficial. According to NetWorld's CEO Dick Good, the sites and Paul Barron have as much to offer NetWorld as NetWorld has to offer them.

"We are very enthusiastic about this plan. The quick serve and fast casual restaurant areas both show tremendous activity and growth, and Paul Barron possesses a great deal of expertise in dealing with and contributing to the food service industry," Good said. "Blending those factors with NetWorld's publishing capabilities in general, and our experience with PizzaMarketplace.com in particular, should produce an excellent opportunity for us to serve the food service industry extremely well as we grow."

According to Barron, the collective efforts of the new venture will improve the availability of news and information to the quick-service restaurant industry.

"This new partnership will result in the largest publisher of unique vertical news and information for the restaurant industry," Barron said. "In today's restaurant business environment, operators seek vertical publications that focus on their specific business, not just an overview of the entire restaurant industry."