By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A new partnership in Bowling Green will cater to the late-night need for transportation and cravings for food.
For a year now, ZiggyZooms has been driving bar patrons home safely during late hours in Bowling Green. Starting on this Thursday, the student-founded ride service is offering to deliver food home with the passengers.
Teaming up with Call of the Canyon, at 109 N. Main St., the ride service will provide late-night food on the go during the busy bar times of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday when BGSU is in session. And the restaurant will add a “Canyon Express” service for late-night food downtown.
The partnership is designed to bring more community customers to ZiggyZooms, and more campus customers to Call of the Canyon.
In its first year, ZiggyZooms provided 2,500 rides, transporting more than 7,000 individuals.
“I’m extremely happy with those numbers. I think we’re going to continue to grow,” said Cameron Parke, president and CEO of ZiggyZooms.
“We’re bringing the students to them, and they’re bringing the community to us,” Cameron said of the partnership with Call of the Canyon. “We’d like to expand into the community more.”
In addition to sending food orders home with ride passengers, Call of the Canyon will also be open for take-out during peak bar times of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., Thursday through Saturday.
Located in the same downtown block as several bars, the restaurant will sell to-go food from a limited menu featuring foods like “walking tacos,” mac and cheese, pretzels with queso, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
The locally-owned Call of the Canyon will offer healthier food than other late-night establishments, and include vegan and vegetarian options, said co-owner Ardy Gonyer.
Plus the food will be “fast, affordable and portable,” co-owner Tim Emmerich added.
Parke started the ZiggyZooms business in response to the increasing number of drunk drivers in Bowling Green. Though 95% of the customers so far have been BGSU students, the service also caters to year-round residents.
Since the ride service started in January of 2023, the city saw its first decrease in OVI citations in years, Parke said. Bowling Green Police Division recorded 148 OVI offenses in 2023, compared to 189 in 2022, and 164 in 2021.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to drive those numbers down,” he said. “So impaired people don’t get behind the wheel.”
Partnering with Call of the Canyon to create “Canyon Express,” will allow ZiggyZooms drivers to pick up food, then pick up bar patrons, and take them home.
“Not only will they be safe, but they are going to be fed,” Parke said.
This would set ZiggyZooms apart from other ride services, he said. ZiggyZooms is also different because bar patrons contact drivers, not through an App, but by calling them at 419-484-4417.
“You pick up the phone and call us,” Parke said. A dispatcher will tell the caller the name of the driver, make of car, and how soon it will arrive. Riders can pay using credit/debit cards, Venmo, cash, or the cash App.
“We’ve seen this is something the city needs,” Parke said.
The Call of the Canyon owners agree.
“We love the mission about public safety,” Emmerich said.
He and Gonyer also see the need for late-night food options in Bowling Green – especially among locally owned establishments.
“It’s a gap in the market we might be able to fill,” Emmerich said.
Staff from ZiggyZooms will be trained to prepare the limited menu items during late-night hours. But the coveted job of wearing the Call of the Canyon mascot costume for the “Karl the Cactus” outside the restaurant is reserved for Emmerich.
