Google acquires restaurant website builder Appetas

Google has snapped up restaurant website design company Appetas, closing down the company and issuing staff an edict to work on "new endeavors."

Appetas is a company which provides slick and engaging website templates for small businesses, focused on the culinary and restaurant industry. Appetas says that restaurant websites are often difficult to use, host outdated menus and may not be compatible with both PCs and mobile devices, and so Appetas aimed to make the launch of an online presence streamlined and easy for SMBs.

The service also integrates with other food-based services including Foursquare.

According to a blog post by the Seattle-based firm, the purchase means that the Appetas service will be immediately closed down, and customers will be moved to alternative platforms.

"We are excited to announce that the Appetas team is joining Google," Appetas says. "Google shares Appetas' vision for bringing incredibly simple experiences to merchants that strengthen their business. We're very excited to use what we've learned with Appetas to create something even better at Google."

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

As Google continues to acquire companies and strike deals with services relating to our daily lives -- from the purchase of flight search ITA to the recent integration of the Uber transport service within its mapping software, securing Appetas makes sense. By snapping up the company, Google has not only secured itself additional talent, but will have a better chance of competing against local services such as Yelp and Foursquare and improving localized services.