Fort Worth restaurants Texas Roadhouse and Pie Five Pizza have joined the ranks of local eateries that are now accepting Frog Bucks as payment for meals.

Texas Roadhouse opened in May and started accepting Frog Bucks in August. P.J. Puzzuole , the managing partner of the group that owns Texas Roadhouse, said he actually got the idea to accept Frog Bucks from two of his employees. He said so far it has been a positive experience and a wise business decision for his company.

“We want to make sure the kids have access to the restaurant,” Puzzuole said.

A new pizzeria called Pie Five Pizza  opened in June of this year and began accepting Frog Bucks immediately.

Jeff Burns, the general manager, said his business accepted Frog Bucks because it wanted “to be part of everything that is TCU.” He said he wanted to have a great relationship with the university community. Accepting Frog Bucks gave Pie Five Pizza the opportunity to publicize themselves, Burns said. His company received business that it might not receive if students did not find it on the Frog Bucks website.

“They wouldn’t know who we are and where we are,” Burns  said.

Haley Majer , a freshman anthropology major, said she spent most of her Frog Bucks at Dutch’s Burgers and Beer  and Yo! Frozen Yogurt Lounge.  

“I love the system; it’s very convenient. It’s very easy just to swipe your ID and have that as all you carry around,” Majer said. 

However, some local businesses, such as Einstein Bros. Bagels,  saw a negative side to Frog Bucks.

Terrance Walker, the general manager of Einstein’s, said he had three reasons why his business did not accept Frog Bucks.

Reason number one: Frog Bucks did not insure sales.

“If we take a charge and then the bill isn’t paid, we don’t get money,” Walker  said,

This is unlike credit card charges where Einstein’s is guaranteed payment for every sale it makes, he said.

Reason number two: Frog Bucks “charge more than what a credit card costs.”

He said his business pays more, percentage-wise, to be paid with Frog Bucks as opposed to a credit card.

Reason number three: Einstein’s registers and other technological resources do not work with Frog Bucks.

Einstein’s would have to pay for a new system to even scan Frog Bucks, Walker said.

“Even in a year, you’re not going to make the money,” Walker said.

While Walker said he believed he might be losing out on some customers by not taking Frog Bucks, the bagel shop still received a high number of patrons. Enough customers patronize Einstein’s  that it ultimately does not take a huge hit from not taking Frog Bucks, Walker said.

Ragan Powell , the manager of Old Rip’s Tex-Mex Restaurant, agreed with Walker about Frog Bucks. He said the fee for each transaction taken through Frog Bucks would have been taken out of his company’s profit.

Philip Duggins, a senior economics and communication studies major, said although he felt that Frog Bucks was a positive feature for students, he did not use them much anymore.

“If a place takes Frog Bucks, they also take cash or credit card. I didn’t see why I needed to use Frog Bucks,” Duggins said.

Quiznos  and Chicken Express both have been in Fort Worth for a while but are not in the immediate vicinity of campus.

The Quiznos  located at 3050-B S. Hulen St. started taking Frog Bucks in the spring of 2010, owner Myles Carroll said.

“I enjoy students, I support student activities, and I literally support TCU any way I can,”  Carroll said. “One of the ways I can is by offering students a good quality product using Frog Bucks,”

He said accepting Frog Bucks was a business decision to promote Quiznos as a company and to create an environment that students enjoy.

Chicken Express located at 4791 SW Loop 820 started accepting Frog Bucks to boost business in the fall of 2010, Jack Durfey, the manager, said. Accepting Frog Bucks allowed for students to spend money without worrying about their funds, he said.

For more information on which restaurants are accepting Frog Bucks visit frogbucks.com.