ITHACA, N.Y. -- Peter Krebs no longer has to wait in line for his favorite Cornell Bear Deal combo meal. Frustrated by long lines at campus cafeterias, he has found a better way: Ordering online.

The idea came to him on a cold February evening in 2000. At the time Krebs was a junior living on North Campus and fed up with waiting for an hour for dinner, only to find the counter window closing for the day. Instead of calling up for pizza, Krebs took his gripes to then-Cornell Dining Director Nadeem Siddiqui, who encouraged Krebs to find a solution. Two years later Krebs, C.E. '01, M.Eng. '02, and his four partners developed and successfully demonstrated their prototype, which they trademarked as Webfood.

Cornell Dining officials liked what they saw and recognized Webfood as a way of reducing food-service lineups. Now the Web-based food ordering service is available at Bear Necessities & Café on the first floor of Robert Purcell Community Center. The service not only enables students to order online but promises faster service during busy cafeteria hours -- students order on their laptops, and their food is ready when they arrive. Webfood's revenue comes from selling a software and hardware package to clients and then charging a per-order transaction fee and an annual fee for software upgrades and other support of the Webfood service.

In August 2003, Webfood was acquired by Ithaca-based CBORD Group, where Krebs and two of the founders, Louis Licari, A.E.M. '02, and Matthew Richardson, focus on developing enhancements and selling Webfood throughout North America. (The two other founders were Timothy Campbell, C.E. '01, M.Eng. '02, and Ari Parnes, A.E.M. '02.)

The five-year-old venture is growing fast, and in just the past two years it has received 49,000 orders from Cornell students alone. Other college clients include SUNY Cortland, the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, Trinity University and Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Webfood also has expanded into other markets and has signed up more than a dozen Ithaca restaurants, including Chili's, King Subs, Papa Johns, Subway, Wok Village and Aladdin's. Another client is FactSet, a research investment banking firm in Norwalk, Conn. "Their own kitchen is eight miles away from their offices, and with Webfood, employees can place their lunch orders without leaving their desks," said Cindy McCall, CBORD's director of marketing.

Webfood's computer servers take the orders, which are relayed to participating college kitchens or restaurants, some of which can offer the option of pick-up, dine-in or delivery orders. The Webfood software calculates the preparation time required for each order. "The average student takes 35 seconds to go from logging in to ordering a meal. And with the new favorites option, customers can save their item preferences, such as toppings and condiments, making future orders even faster. Orders with favorites take only 12 seconds," said McCall.

Flexibility is another of Webfood's strengths. At Cornell, the Web-based menu offers a wide range of condiments and options typical of the choices available at the counter. For example, when ordering a deli sandwich, a student can choose from whole wheat to sourdough and from lettuce and tomato to making it a combo with a drink. Just as important, Webfood lets restaurant managers enjoy the same kind of flexibility in organizing their online menus. "Restaurant managers know what they want, and with Webfood they have the ability to make changes to the Web-based menu themselves. Customers love Webfood because they do not need to contact CBORD for everything. They can easily manage the system," said Krebs.

At Pennsylvania College of Technology, students can order through two Webfood kiosks instead of standing in line to place their orders. The kiosks accept campus card accounts or CBORD's own payment system.

Krebs still remembers the days when balancing academic work as an engineering major and a new business venture was no small feat. He attributes Webfood's success to his Cornell education. "In business, I need to take the idea that is in my head and express it as a reality. Cornell teaches that," said Krebs.

CBORD's founder, John Alexander '74, is a Cornell trustee, a member of the Cornell Council and a member of Cornell's Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program Executive Board. His company is a major supplier of food and nutrition software, campuswide ID cards, cashless dining and housing management systems.

The Webfood service is at http://www.webfood.com .

This release was prepared by Cornell News Service science-writing intern Alex Kwan.