About Us
In a make-or-break industry, we help restaurants keep their doors open, revenue steady, and guests happy.
The Pandemic Hit Hard.
So We Hit Back Harder.
The Pandemic Hit Hard. So We Hit Back Harder.
Check This Out was born in the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic by restaurateurs trying to find a way to keep their kitchens open during a dark time. When the team behind Feast Raw Bar & Bistro in Bozeman, Montana, needed a better way to fill tables, we turned frustration into innovation. Social media was inconsistent and impossible to track. Traditional mailers were expensive and time-consuming. Yet, we knew referral deals worked.
So Nicholas Wickes, managing partner of Feast Raw Bar & Bistro, built Check This Out: a platform that makes rewarding loyal guests for bringing in friends as easy as sending a text. No printing costs. No “waiting to go viral” moments. No manual tracking. Just real-time results you can see in your sales.
Feast was our first success story. They turned their best customers into their best marketers. Now, restaurants across the country are doing the same.
For Restaurants that Want to Keep Doors Open
Whether you’re running a busy local spot, managing multiple locations, or marketing for clients in the restaurant world, Check This Out is for you. Our restaurant text message marketing and referral platform gives you the guest growth tools to fill tables and prove results.
The Principles that Guide Every Click
Integrity
You’re only as good as your word. You can count on us to do what we say and deliver with the grit to get the job done right.
Service
Service is our foundation. We’re here to support you with every step, big or small.
Community
When we lift each other up, we all rise. Together, we make the restaurant world thrive.
Supporting the Communities We Love
We donate 10% of our fees from redeemed Check This Out discounts to charitable organizations in the community every month. We welcome requests for causes to support. Just send us a message through the link below with “Check This Out Gives” in the subject line.
Meet the Team
Nicholas Wickes
Founder, CEO
Nicholas brings nearly three decades of experience spanning enterprise software, restaurants, and not-for-profits. As Managing Partner of Feast Raw Bar & Bistro and Principal at TraceBase Solutions, he blends strategic leadership with deep operational insight. His background in Fortune 250 IT and Pharma companies has shaped his approach to scalable systems, customer experience, and sustainable growth. Nicholas holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and is passionate about building teams and tools that drive measurable impact.
Whitewater Tech
Tech Partner
Whitewater Tech is a trusted advisor and Check This Out’s tech team. Their onshore-offshore hybrid model serves as facilitators and “translators” while offshore managers and experts build Check This Out’s highly effective yet incredibly easy-to-use technology.
Drew Schug
VP of Marketing
Rooted in Bozeman, Montana, Drew Schug is a digital marketer and strategic web designer who helps clients develop long-term vision and the necessary short-term tactics to achieve their marketing and sales goals. He brings over 16 years of business-building and cost-saving experience to the projects he is involved with. Drew has worked with Fortune 500/publicly traded organizations as well as individual attorneys, real estate organizations, educational institutions, and side-by-side with marketing agencies. His diverse experience has ingrained in him the importance of measurable results and value creation that carries through to his interaction with each venture.
Eloise Gitchell
Head of Partnerships and Customer Success
Eloise’s background is in marketing, leadership, and innovation, with experience in start-ups and nonprofits. She holds a BA in Business Marketing and a Master of Science in Innovation and Management from Montana State University. Throughout her career, Eloise has led teams, built partnerships, and supported community-focused projects. Her passion for leadership and connection drives her work to create environments where people and ideas can thrive.
Meet Our Advisors
Jeff Batton
Jeff Batton is a serial entrepreneur who has been a growth-stage executive for many businesses and investors throughout the Rocky Mountain region. His experience includes long-term leadership roles with a long list of well-known local businesses including PFL, Wisetail, Blackmore Sensors & Analytics, Foundant Technologies, and The Natural Baby Company. He has been directly involved in more than $250 million in transactions for venture-backed and HomeGrown businesses across the Northwest and in billions of dollars of funding for public companies.
Josh Toenyes
Josh has been building on the web for over twenty years–when the only internet option was dialup, and Netscape Navigator reigned supreme. Since then, he’s traveled the world, cofounded Cardsetter, and never stopped growing as an entrepreneur and engineer. Josh is a decorated US Navy veteran and graduate of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.
Dave Danford
Dave is the founder and Managing Director of Innovation Incubator, a Startup Studio. He advises, invests, and sits on the Board of several technology start-ups in Montana and Seattle, WA. For 24 years prior to Innovation Incubator, Dave held leadership positions of various innovative (version 1.0) product teams at Microsoft Corporation. In addition to Microsoft, Dave has served as Chief Marketing Officer of a national adventure travel company, VP Finance & Operations of a successful Silicon Valley startup, and Manager for Arthur Andersen. Dave earned his MBA at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management and is a CPA with a BA in Accounting from University of Washington. When not helping innovators innovate, Dave is outdoors rock climbing, bikepacking, fly fishing, or adventuring near his home in the Rocky Mountains.
Ready to Fill More Seats?