I’ll trade you three meals for a carpet cleaning
A new service is making the bartering economy a little more legit. Barter Business Unlimited tracks trades and credits in a member network. “It took me a while to wrap my mind around it, but now instead of cash I use barter dollars,” says James Verano, owner of Black-Eyed Sally’s, a barbecue restaurant and blues venue in Hartford, Connecticut. Verano has swapped meals and catering—much of it amounting to on-hand inventory because of the size and nature of his operation—for website design, carpet- and hood-cleaning services, and hotel rooms for out-of-town bands. He’s also cashed in for such personal things as dentist’s visits for his kids, a vacation in Saint Kitts and even his beloved black cocker spaniel, Lucy, pictured above with Verano’s daughter. www.restaurantbusinessonline.com