Avoid the wait and beat busy crowds with the local WhereT app.
Picture it: You finally drag yourself out of bed (those that get it, get it) to go out to eat or to get drinks with friends, only to be stuck standing around waiting to be seated. Or maybe you paid a cover to get in somewhere, but it’s overcrowded—or undercrowded!—and it kills the vibe. In short, going out can already be a headache—and it’s only made worse by situations like these.
Enter WhereT, “the app you don’t know you need until you do need it,” says CEO and co-founder Brandon Lewis. Based in Raleigh, the global app (available in 170 countries!) uses geofencing GPS technology to showcase real-time information on how busy local businesses are, so users know what to expect before they go—and plan the best time to visit.
The idea for WhereT naturally was born after Lewis got tired of arriving at places only to wait, or going to a barely bumping club. Seeking more venue transparency, he launched the app while still in college in 2022 with partner Patrick Loussaint and CTO Ridwan Faniyi to deliver an “innovative way for businesses to market to the consumers while streamlining that process,” he says.
WhereT also helps users arrange rides, order tickets or food, pay for parking and view online content directly through the app, whether for a restaurant, bar, club, store, event—even airports and the DMV office (!). And it’s a win for businesses as well, as by using WhereT they can cut associated commissions with companies like DoorDash and Grubhub while hopefully benefiting from additional clientele, Lewis explains.
To further market WhereT, Lewis launched a separate brain child, Busy Brew Lager, earlier this year in partnership with Lonerider Brewery owner Sumit Vohra, who also became somewhat of a mentor figure to the app founder. Another win-win, the brew offers a tasty sipper “crafted for every palate” and links directly to the WhereT app by a QR code on the can, making it “the only beer that has the technology behind it to market your venue as well,” maintains Lewis.
So, consider those excuses to not get out of bed nixed—and the perfect excuse to leave your house found. Hey, another win for all!
Surplus food marketplace Too Good To Go launching in Raleigh
Heads up: This isn’t too good to be true (!). Combating the ever-rising issue of food waste and cost of quality food is Too Good To Go, a surplus food marketplace launching in Raleigh and Durham June 5.
Operating on a win-win-win business model (“for people, profit and the planet”), the certified B Corp social impact company connects consumers with food from restaurants that would otherwise be thrown away, in turn helping businesses unlock revenue from their surplus. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
According to Too Good To Go Senior PR Manager Sarah Soteroff, upward of 40% of made food goes to waste in America, with the country’s annual food waste contributing to about 10% of carbon emissions. On top of the environmental impacts, it tightens costs for businesses and consumers, wasting about $2,000 a year per person.
The platform’s goal is to mitigate those detrimental-to-the-Earth issues—NTM selling food items at around a third of the retail cost. Since its founding in 2016, Too Good To Go has saved 300+ million meals from going to waste, and that footprint is expanding with its Raleigh/Durham launch.
Consumers receive that surplus in the form of surprise bags, which vary daily but can include dairy, baked goods, produce, prepared meals and packaged goods. “It’s harder for food-selling businesses in tight margins to make money,” says Soteroff, “so if there’s a way for them to regain some revenue by selling this discounted food, it’s a huge bonus. We get that food into the hands of people who want it without it going to waste.”
For her part, partnering with Too Good to Go was an easy choice for Little Barb’s owner Barb Nigro, who says the marketplace’s goals aligned with the bakery’s existing sustainable initiatives—think “low waste eats” bags and baking in small batches to reduce waste.
“We first focus on not having a ton of surplus for bags, but if we do, it’s great to have Too Good To Go’s help,” explains Nigro. Little Barb’s bags aren’t a constant, but they normally feature bready items like scones or cheddar bacon biscuits, and treats not up to the bakery’s normal standards, which again helps recover loss.
Tepuy Donuts owner Alejandro Contreras also says Too Good To Go has been helpful in reducing waste. “People have been very responsive to it, it’s been working,” he says. “It’s been a win-win for everyone.”
