United by a love of food and technology, Caitlin Rafferty and Derek Oishi, who have been dating for almost two years, are avid Foursquare users.Foursquare.com is one of the fastest growing social media sites in America. They have over 2.2 million users who “check-in” when they arrive at an establishment using their smart phones.
After checking in multiple times, and more than any other user at that establishment, you are crowned the “Mayor” of that location.
Fresh Brothers is lucky to have four Mayors, one for each of our locations. When you become a Mayor at Fresh Brothers, we send you a gift certificate and a t-shirt. There are perks and privileges associated with being Fresh Brothers royalty!
We here at Fresh Brothers discovered that two of our Mayors were dating when were putting a call out to all of our Mayors to appear in this video produced for MSN.com. Check out Caitlin!
http://behindtheshell.msn.com/videos/Foursquare/105#/videos/105
We thought it would be fun to interview our two lovebirds using an old-school, he-said/she-said format.
How and when did you meet?
Caitlin: Derek and I met in a very “How I Met Your Mother” sort of way. Over the span of about two years, we had either been at the same show or party four separate times and JUST missed meeting each other. We both work in the entertainment industry, and once even worked on the same show, “Oprah’s Big Give.” We must have walked by each other multiple times on set but never met. It was in the summer of 2008 that my friend Amber kept telling me she had this friend I just had to meet, because she thought we’d be perfect for each other (although never mentioned his name). I was like, “Sure, whatever”, but hadn’t really given much thought to it. On October 11, 2008, Amber invited me out to Upright Cabaret, a piano bar in West Hollywood where theatre and tv/film people performed. Conveniently, she’d made a table reservation that was short a few seats, so I got stuck doing standing room at the bar. I ended up standing next to this cute guy who’d caught my eye, and started talking to him a bit. At a break in the show Amber came up and hugged me, said hello… and then hugged the cute guy I’d been talking to as well. Amber said, “I see you two have met”, and then officially introduced me to the cute guy, her friend, Derek. We hit it off and ended up talking all night, and I honestly couldn’t tell you a single song from the show that night or even who was performing, but I can tell you the color shirt Derek had on and the drink in his hand. Later on, I found out that this was the friend Amber had been trying to introduce me to all along. We started dating two weeks later and have been together ever since, so I suppose she was right.
Derek: Caitlin and I met in October 11, 2008 at an Upright Cabaret event. //Unfortunately, there were no seats so I had to watch the show in the back at the bar. I made some small talk with this girl and making sure I was taking too much space at the bar. This girl turned out to be Caitlin. It turns out Caitlin and I both knew the same friend so when our friend came by to say hi she said, “I see you have already met!”
Did your first date involve food? If so, where did you go?
Caitlin: Our first “official” date was to Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights. I remember we grabbed hot dogs at some point that night, but it wasn’t really a “food date.” But… before went on our first official “date” we hung out a couple of times as friends to get to know each other. The first time we hung out after our initial meeting did in fact involve food. Pizza to be exact. I went over to his place to hang out and watch a couple episodes of “Heroes”, so I thought I’d bring over some pizza. Well, the funny thing is I didn’t know Derek was lactose intolerant. And he evidently didn’t know his limit on how much pizza he could eat, so he ate a couple slices. Throughout the night he kept running to the bathroom. I thought he just had a really small bladder, but little did I know that he’d eaten too much pizza and made himself sick. He didn’t tell me he was sick because he didn’t want to ruin the evening evidently. A week later, my friend Amber gave me the scoop on what had really happened. I felt so bad, but now I know that Derek can only have two slices of pizza. Whenever he goes for a third I stop him and remind him of the first time we hung out, and suggest he go for some wings instead.
Derek: After the Upright Cabaret show, we went to Canter's and we both discovered that we are both fans of the Reuben sandwich. A week later, I invited Caitlin to come over and watch Heroes and she brought over some pizza.
At what point did you discover that you both love pizza?
Caitlin: Well, after that first pizza fiasco, I was hesitant to suggest it again, but on election night of 2008, Derek suggested we have some Chicago style pizza while watching election coverage in honor of presidential candidate Barack Obama’s home state. This time Derek did not get sick and thus began our mutual love affair with pizza.
Derek: We both love pizza. However, I am slightly lactose intolerant, but I love pizza. I discovered my limit for pizza before I get sick is just two slices. Thus, Caitlin sometimes will remind me of my two slice limit.
How did you find Fresh Brothers?
Caitlin: On St. Patrick’s Day of 2009, Derek was reminiscing how the previous St. Patrick’s Day he had been in Chicago, where they turn the river green for the holiday and how much fun it was. So Derek decided he really wanted some Chicago style pizza. The last time we’d had Chicago style pizza, it was way too greasy. So we decided we wanted to try something different, and started looking up pizza places in Los Angeles on Yelp. We saw great user reviews for a new place, Fresh Brothers. When we looked up their address, I realized I lived right down the street, so we decided to give it a try. And the rest is history.
Derek: Caitlin and I were celebrating St. Patrick's bar at an Irish bar in Hollywood, and it was pretty boring. The year before, I was in Chicago celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and I had such a blast having deep dish pizza with a pint of Guiness. I wasn't having a great time so I decided to research for a deep dish pizza place down in the South Bay since we both live in the area. I checked Yelp.com and read the reviews for Fresh Brothers, and we decided to leave the Irish bar, and get some pizza down at the Manhattan Beach location.
What were your first thoughts after trying Fresh Brothers?
Caitlin: I remember we got a deep dish pizza, half Miller Special (for Derek), half Fresh Momma’s Favorite (for me). I really liked how the pizza sauce blended with the pesto in the Fresh Momma’s favorite and thought it was really unique. I also liked how soft the crust was. But most importantly, I liked that the pizza wasn’t greasy. We then started frequenting the Manhattan Beach location, near my house. Conveniently a Marina Del Rey location opened down the street from Derek’s house later that year.
Derek: I love the taste of the sauce. The deep dish pizza isn't too heavy or greasy, and it's very delicious.
Deep dish or thin crust?
Caitlin: Deep dish all the way.
Derek: Deep dish! Although I have to admit I never tried the Thin crust, but I'm a Deep dish kind of a guy.
Favorite pizza? Why?
Caitlin: My current fave is the Greek Town Special, no olives. I love all things spicy, and usually put Tabasco on my pizza, so I decided to try it when I saw it had pepperoncinis on it. The pepperoncini & red onion add a bit of spice, and totally hits the spot.
Derek: I like the Miller Pizza. I love meat on a pizza! I also enjoy the Sausage pizza with the sausage spread is also a winner.
At what point did you begin playing Foursquare?
Caitlin: Derek and I started playing Foursquare together actually. Different friends of ours had joined, so we decided to join the party so to speak. I was always a big fan of Yelp so this seemed kind of like a more interactive version of it at the time. I remember we joined shortly before Valentine’s Day of 2010, because for Valentine’s Day weekend I surprised Derek by planning an Amazing Race style scavenger hunt for him around LA, and each place we went, we were checking in on Foursquare. It was fun, because some of my friends knew about the elaborate scavenger hunt I’d planned for him and were following along with our weekend adventures on Foursquare as we checked in at each place. They even joined us at one of the stops, The LA Street Food Fest, and checked in with us.
Derek: I began playing Foursquare in Feb 2010. A few of my friends were tweeting about where they are checking in, and they informed me about the Foursquare game. I thought the concept was weird since I really doubt people are interested where I am going, but getting the badges and mayorships attracted me to the Foursquare.
Are you competitive with each other regarding the game?
Caitlin: Well, a good majority of our check-ins occur together, so it’s hard to be too competitive about it. Or at least I’m not competitive about it. Derek on the other hand… Derek is competitive. Which is hilarious considering I’m usually beating him on the points tally. And I never really check the points tally, so I only become aware of this when Derek brings it to my attention. Overall, Derek has more mayorships, but I’ve got more badges, so I suppose we come out even.
Derek: Caitlin and I are very competitive in regards to Foursquare. We have an ongoing competition on who has the most Mayorships and Badges. I'm winning the Mayorships battle, but Cailtin is kicking my butt when it comes down to badges. We have an ongoing battle about being the Mayor of my place mostly because I forget to check into my apartment, and she remembers to check in. Do you remember when you became the Mayor of Fresh Brothers? Tell us about it...
Caitlin: I became the mayor of a Fresh Brothers location first (before Derek), and I think I became mayor within a few months of joining Foursquare. I remember I’d gone to go pick up a pizza for me and my parents, and I was like, “Huh, I just became mayor on Foursquare.” And the guy working the counter was like, “What’s Foursquare?” I think I tried to explain it but did a horrible job at it. The mayorship was kind of unexpected since I’d only checked in a few times.
Shortly after I became mayor of Manhattan Beach, Derek and I had gone to pick up pizza from the Marina Del Rey location and noticed that the venue didn’t have a mayor. We joked that it would be funny if I was mayor of one location and he was mayor of another. I think within a few weeks he became mayor of Fresh Brothers Marina Del Rey.
Derek: Yes, I do! Caitlin and I decided to stay in on a Saturday night so I picked up the DVD A Bug's Life from the Marina Del Rey library, and I got a picked up a pizza at Fresh Brothers. I ate so much pizza, I feel asleep during the movie.
What does it mean to you to be the "Mayor" of Fresh Brothers?
Caitlin: Well, clearly it means I’m on my way to ruling the world. Or at least ruling Manhattan Beach. I suppose it’s more of a “bragging rights” thing than anything else. For me it’s fun because Fresh Brothers is really active in both the local community and in social media. They “get into it” so to speak. I’m mayor of a few other businesses in Manhattan Beach, but Fresh Brothers is definitely the most fun to be mayor of because they’re the most plugged in. I frequented Fresh Brothers before I was on Foursquare, and would be eating pizza there all the time regardless of “mayorship”, but this definitely enhances the experience.
Derek: I am honored to be Mayor of Fresh Brothers. I enjoy how innovative they are marketing online.
How are you treated as the Mayor?
Caitlin: Quite well! When I became mayor of the Manhattan Beach location I tweeted about it, and got a tweet back from the restaurant welcoming me. I also received a nice thank you gift from the owners of Fresh Brothers. Overall, they’ve been very enthusiastic about both Foursquare and “mayor appreciation.
Derek: Fresh Brothers has been amazing! They gave me a gift certificate and asked for my tshirt size to get a free tshirt too!
What more can we do to enhance your Foursquare experience?
Caitlin: A mayor’s special would be pretty awesome ;)
Derek: Maybe give out bonuses like a free salad for the 10th checkin, but overall the Fresh Brothers Foursquare experience has been amazing!
From the Fresh Brothers Family:
Great ideas, kids. Thanks for sharing with us! We’re honored to have you both as Mayors.
