00:00By now you've heard the phrase there's an app for that and in 2024 with
00:05technology updating at a rapid pace every company seems to have one. Well
00:10today another notable name is joining in on the action with an app of their own.
00:14Eater is launching a restaurant discovery app of its own and here to
00:18tell us more about it is editor-in-chief Stephanie Wu. Stephanie thank you so
00:22much for joining us today. Hi Diane I am so glad to be here could not be more
00:27excited to launch the app and chat with you guys all about it. So tell us about
00:31the app what can users expect first? Yes so first and foremost as you said
00:36restaurant discovery app and of course the most important thing is that it is
00:41only filled with eater recommended restaurants. We know there's a lot out
00:45there user generated reviews lots and lots on the internet and the eater app
00:49cuts through all the noise and only gives you our editor recommended
00:53restaurants in a hundred different cities around the world. So tell me
00:57about the decision to even launch an app first when you know there there are
01:01other choices already out there you've got Rezzy etc. Of course I got to tell
01:05you even though there are a lot of restaurant apps out there this remains
01:09the number one request we get from our readers all the time. They're constantly
01:13asking us where can I find my eater recommendations on a map I want my eater
01:17maps in an app and we felt that it was time to give it to them and even though
01:23there's a lot out there there's nothing in the market that still really captures
01:26the level of curation that we have the amount of scale that we have and of
01:31course the user service because now you're going to be able to find a
01:34restaurant find something great make a reservation right in the app and then of
01:39course save a restaurant if you want to come back to it later create your own
01:42list start to think about okay you know I researched this I saw this maybe not
01:46for right now but maybe for tomorrow next weekend etc. So you say your editors
01:52are in charge of you know making the determinations but we live in a day and
01:58age now where AI is a part of the equation for just about any anything
02:03involving technology especially with an app how much is AI involved in this? Not
02:08at all so our app is completely powered by editor our editor recommendations
02:14we've got editors in more than 20 cities you know all across the US they're on
02:19the ground they're dining out every day they love to eat out they love to make
02:23recommendations and the app pulls directly from the eater website fully
02:27editorial fully editor curated. So fully editor curated but tastes vary and so I
02:33know for instance when I go online to look at a restaurant before booking I'll
02:37go to say Google Yelp what to see what people say about the restaurant and I
02:44especially like pictures how do you you know make sure this really is the pick
02:52the right pick especially we think about different tastes? Yes and I think part of
02:56it is that there is so much choice out there and so if you know eater you trust
03:00eater you know you're gonna get a great recommendation and so the ability to say
03:04I'm in a certain place I just want to see what's around me that eater has
03:08vetted and recommended and not every restaurants going to be a great fit
03:12because you might be in the financial district and you're going to see a lunch
03:16spot a coffee place a cocktail bar a great nice historic restaurant and then
03:21you can really based on where you are think about what you're looking for and
03:25narrow it down either it's based on location where you are right now or say
03:29you're planning a trip and you're going to a different city and scroll to that
03:32city and look up places near your hotel near your conference it's really both
03:37about finding something great on the go and then planning ahead for when you're
03:42in a location or neighborhood you might not be as familiar with. And then we
03:46talked a little bit about the fact that there were apps that already exist in
03:50this space how do you all stand out especially when you think people have
03:55certain habits already? Yes so again it I think it always comes down to what
04:01people know and love about eater which is our expertise and the fact that
04:04people really trust us when we when we recommend something I actually went to
04:09try and go to a restaurant this past weekend and it's not a new restaurant
04:13it's been a while around for a really long time and I get there there's a line
04:17out the door and and they've never been so busy in a long time and I said you
04:23know hey can I do takeout and they said no or so sorry we're slammed today
04:27apparently eater put us on us on a story. What restaurant is it? I'm not gonna
04:31share. Oh come on you gotta give us something. All right I will share it's an
04:37amazing restaurant that I love so much it's Ho Foods it's a Taiwanese breakfast
04:40spot and beef noodle soup spot in the East Village and they've been around for
04:45a while but us putting them literally back on the map just saw this huge
04:51increase of business for them and we're so proud that people look to our
04:55recommendations they trust them and they really act on them they head there
04:59immediately. So you mentioned New York geographically where else are you all
05:05covering? So we're in in more than 20 cities across the U.S. so all the big
05:09markets of course New York, LA, SF, Chicago, DC and then smaller markets
05:14we're in Atlanta, we're in Dallas, we're in Austin, we're in Seattle, Portland we're
05:20we're quite well spread and then of course there's international
05:24destinations as well that we cover with a wide network of contributors. Okay all
05:28right and then you all have some partnerships at play Capital One, Seven
05:31Rooms tell us more about that and what that entails. Yeah we were so glad to
05:35launch the app with two partners that just care a lot about helping people
05:39find great places to eat which is all we do. Capital One Dining is the financial
05:43partner and they have a program with specially set aside prime time tables
05:48for cardholders so if you're on the app if you have a Capital One
05:52card you can click on a link and it can it'll say okay this restaurant has
05:56special tables set aside for you and then Seven Rooms of course is a
06:00restaurant reservation platform so you can book restaurants right through
06:04there and they're not our only reservation platform it was important to
06:08them that they that the app is reservation platform agnostic so okay
06:13having multiple partners really providing the most user service so that
06:17again you can find a restaurant and make a reservation really quickly. Really
06:22quickly I have a two-part question one I'm assuming the app is free but is
06:27there any cost? The app is free. Okay and then last question expansion plans
06:32especially when you talk about the cities that you all are in as you
06:36mentioned seems to be predominantly big cities what are your expansion plans?
06:40Yeah we really don't see the app as a one-and-done thing we want to keep
06:44adding to it we want to get feedback and build on it the app is currently iOS
06:48only but certainly an Android version top of the wish list we want to add more
06:53features where you can share the list with your friends want to make a better
06:57search the the world is it's a it's it's limitless in the potential and we want
07:03to hear from people about what else they want from and the app's name is Eater
07:06it's the Eater. All right the Eater app all right you heard it here first thank
07:10you so much Stephanie. Of course thank you Diane. All right our thanks to Eater
07:14editor-in-chief Stephanie Wu with the latest on their new app.
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