NEW YORK, April 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Zagat, the most trusted name in restaurant discovery, has officially relaunched. The all-new digital-only platform is designed to improve upon the current state of user-generated content by emphasizing trust, curation, and utility — timed perfectly to meet the moment after a historic year for the restaurant industry.
As of today, Zagat’s new digital service is available exclusively for Miami, FL restaurants and diners. As the new product is in its first stages of launch the company plans to roll out additional features as Zagat expands to more cities across the country in the months to follow.
The new Zagat will look familiar, and have the same goal as the original guide, but it will also have a few new features that sets it apart:
- Takeout and Delivery: A new rating category to the original three-score system – Now, in addition to food, service, and atmosphere, Zagat will showcase a separate rating for delivery and takeout. As these are vastly different experiences, they should be scored separately. We’re also adopting a rating range from 0.0 to 10.0 across the platform. Zagat historically used a 30-point rating system, but the brand believes a 10-point scale is more easily understood by users, while also providing more nuance than the typical five-point or five-star scales.
- Photo Sharing – Zagat has optimized the platform for vertical photo sharing and short-form review content. Zagat has always been built for utility – the original printed guide was sized to fit in a pocket and eschewed photos in service of brevity and clarity. In today’s world, photos help tell the story, and the new Zagat makes it easy to share an experience in a format that feels familiar and easy to use.
- Meeting The Moment – the new Zagat will be the only restaurant discovery platform in the world that consists entirely of post-pandemic content. This means you can expect the most accurate information and ratings based on the way things are today – not last year.
Zagat, which was acquired from Google in 2018 by restaurant discovery platform, The Infatuation, has been a powerful tool in supporting small businesses since its inception more than 40 years ago. Zagat was founded in 1979 by Tim and Nina Zagat who saw an opportunity and created the iconic printed Zagat Restaurant Guide. Zagat introduced the world to the idea of user-generated content and democratized restaurant criticism forever. By aggregating the opinions of restaurant goers, Zagat created a trusted and useful resource for discovering and sharing dining experiences.
While the new Zagat will not include a print guide, restaurants earning high ratings will earn the historically high-regarded classification of ‘ZAGAT RATED.’ Restaurants who meet a high rating threshold from a high volume of user surveys will receive a ZAGAT RATED designation later this year which will be noted as such on the Zagat website and apps, as well as via its recognizable in-restaurant window stickers.
“We could not be more excited for our first introduction to be happening in Miami, an incredible food city with a rich history and a bright future,” said Chris Stang, co-founder of The Infatuation and chief executive officer, Zagat. “Our goal is to create a new platform that is both rooted in a strong history and also ideally suited to take on the future. Miami is a city building with that same formula. We’re excited for our journey to begin here.”
“It’s no secret that our restaurants have had a tough year but in the last two months, Miami’s restaurants have been more full and have served even more people than they did a year ago,” said Francis X. Suarez, Mayor, City of Miami. “We’re back and better than ever and I couldn’t think of a better way to build on this momentum and add to the Miami Tech Movement than by having Zagat become an exclusive partner with the City of Miami for their re-launch–these are exciting times for the City.”
To mark the occasion of the Miami launch, Zagat will host a special invite-only celebration in Miami’s Historic Overtown Culture & Entertainment District. The celebration at The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex will feature performances by local Overtown musicians, food curated by Miami restaurants including Historic Overtown’s Lil Greenhouse, Rosie’s and Red Rooster, as well as citywide favorites, Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop, Versailles, Taquiza and Sweet Liberty Drink & Supply Co. The event will feature distinguished guests including Mayor Suarez and City Commissioner Jeffery Watson.
At the event, Mayor Suarez will join Chris Stang (Chief Executive Officer, Zagat), Nicole Gates (Managing Partner and Creative Lead, Lil Greenhouse Grill, Historic Overtown) and Nicole Valls (VP, Operations, Valls Group (Versailles), Little Havana) for a live edition of the Mayor’s well-known digital talk show series, Cafecito Tech Talk. The conversation focused on the past, present and future of Miami’s restaurant industry will be recorded and shared with the public via the City of Miami and Zagat-branded social media channels following the event on April 21.
For additional information about Zagat, please visit the company’s website, download the iOS app, follow Zagat on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or sign-up for their newsletter. Restaurant owners looking to connect with Zagat to learn more about becoming Zagat Rated can visit marketing.zagat.com. A short digital video celebrating Zagat’s relaunch can be found here.
Press Contact: Michael Sinatra – [email protected] – (551) 574.8031
SOURCE Zagat; The Infatuation
