New site offers steep restaurant discounts

New site offers steep restaurant discounts

NEW YORK

Foodies have a new way to snag reservations at posh urban eateries — and enjoy them at a steep discount.

A six-month-old Web service called VillageVines is elbowing its way into the growing crowd of discount sites that offer everything from haircuts to yoga sessions for as much as half off.

VillageVines, modeled on a competing service called OpenTable, offers a 30 percent discount on restaurant tabs — alcohol included — at upscale destinations around the country. Subscribers to the service pay $10 to make a reservation, and the discount is discretely applied to the check.

Unlike Groupon, which offers one-time daily deals, and other services like it, VillageVines has built a roster of more than 250 restaurants that will honor the discount for as many meals as you like.

The catch is that the restaurants get to pick when.

On 10th anniversary, Wikipedia seeks diversity

NEW YORK

Wikipedia, the online trove of assorted facts and trivia, is trying to be more well-rounded.

As the encyclopedia neared its 10th birthday Saturday, its leaders were seeking a more diverse group of editors — specifically, women, people in developing countries and people with expertise in assorted disciplines.

Wikipedia is about to open an office in India and wants to expand further in Brazil, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. Today, 20 percent of the site’s pages are written in English, but the organization expects that to change over the next 10 years.

Associated Press