New Website Sells Restaurant Reservations

There are laws against reselling tickets. But offering restaurant reservations online to the highest bidder may be entirely legal.

A 10-day-old Internet venture, which has created a new website to do just that has attracted customers and critics, reports the Chicago Tribune. However, despite unhappiness on the part of some restaurant owners, there doesn't seem to be a law against the enterprising new business ... at least, not yet.

"Although the practice seems to border on illegal scalping, the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Licensing has deemed it totally kosher," the newspaper writes.

"It's a service like a lot of other services," says Efrat Stein, a department representative. "And there must be a demand if people are using it."