Vancouver food app brings convenience to ordering take-out

Vancouver is full of great places to eat but we often get stuck in a routine of choosing the same restaurants to order food for take-out.

One local start up tech company, made up of former UBC students, is trying to change that with their new food-ordering App called Tapicnic.

Tapicnic allows you to find a restaurant close to your location, browse the menu and then order a meal for take-out all on the convenience of your smartphone. No phone calls or waiting in line are required. Everything is done with the simplicity of the Tapicnic app.

A key feature that sets Tapicnic apart from other food and restaurant apps is that it is exclusive to restaurants in Vancouver. The app allows you to choose from six areas in Vancouver: Downtown, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant and UBC. From there, you can see which restaurants are closest to you, and which ones offer delivery or pick-up as take out options.

Images: Via Appszoom

Currently, the ordering platform allows users to order take-out from 100 restaurants in the Vancouver area, with several being added to the list everyday. We caught up with the Tapicnic team to learn a little more about the app and the idea behind it.

Who are the masterminds behind Tapicnic? Tell us a bit about yourselves!

First, there is our supreme leader, David Chong. David’s first term at UBC was in 2001. He has been working on other people’s applications and coding like a maniac for years. Taking the things he’s learned from working on apps for clients he came up with Tapicnic. He didn’t do it alone. The team consists of UBC computer scientists & engineers: Dylan Dumesnil, Matt Kuo, and Phattrick Tran, designer Aaron Cambell and marketing director, Sandy Mangat.

How did you come up with the idea for Tapicnic?

Our office ordered take-out food a few times a week. Being developers we really did not want to call in orders. We also found that menus are clunky on the web, its hard to find places around you and look at the menus quickly, thus Tapicnic was born.

What makes Tapicnic different from other food apps? (Urban Spoon, Local Eats, Foodspotting etc).

We are not a national behemoth that has entered the market. We grew up here, went to school here, and eat at these restaurants all the time. We are a team of UBC computer scientists & engineers who are dedicated to making great food available easily anytime of the day.

How will Tapicnic make the lives of Vancouverites a little bit easier when it comes to ordering food? How does it benefit local restaurants?

You, the user, get to order things quickly, never wait in line, and be rewarded for your loyalty (as well as see what friends order at their favourite restaurants). For the restaurant, they get a more customers, a streamlined ordering process, and a lot of data that can easily translate to customer lists, retention programs, and better customer experiences.

 

Tapinic makes it possible for everyone to be a ‘foodie’ and enjoy Vancouver’s plethora of dining options on the go. Check out the app and order away!

 

Feature Image: Joshua Resnick via Shutterstock