Patent ID: 7110964

Claim:
A method comprising receiving essentially simultaneously orders for restaurant food items from two or more different patrons with respect to two or more different restaurants at which the patrons are located and at which ordered food items are to be delivered to the respective patrons, and balancing the load of the ordering process by (a) receiving the orders telephonically at a call center, (b) at the call center, displaying information for use in connection with one of the orders associated with one of the restaurants, the information relating to a set of food items available at the one restaurant, (c) at the call center, displaying information for use in connection with another one of the orders associated with another one of the restaurants, the information relating to a set of food items available at the other restaurant, and (d) while the orders are being received at the call center, providing information about the orders electronically from the call center to an order processing system that performs order entry and/or order processing functions at the one restaurant and the other restaurant.