Tippl app seeks to get people to Omaha bars, restaurants with free booze | To eat

Want a free beer at a local bar or restaurant? A new mobile app called Tippl has you covered.

Created by Michael Friedman, Taylor Darlington, Mark Wong and Matt Moore, Tippl, which is available on iOS and Android devices, seeks to support bars and restaurants in Omaha who have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic as people stayed home and used food delivery. apps.

In addition to the loss of establishment activity, Friedman said, he and his fellow developers felt a loss of community as people stopped meeting and bonding over food and drink.

Wanting to reverse this trend, the developers collected data and researched the most effective way to get people to hang out again.

“It seems like one drink — an alcoholic beverage — was enough to convince people to leave their homes and check something out,” Friedman said.

Armed with the data they collected, the four developed the app, which is funded by monthly subscriptions and advertisements from partner companies.

According to Friedman, Tippl has partnered with about 20 companies, including Parliament Pub, Blackstone Meatball and Office West Lounge. He added that the co-founders are in talks with at least a dozen other companies.

People can subscribe to the app for $1 for the first month. After that, a monthly subscription is $5.

Friedman said restrictions were in place so subscribers don’t abuse the system. Subscribers are limited to one free alcoholic drink every 24 hours and twice a month at a participating location.

Citing surveys conducted by the co-founders via Survey Monkey, Friedman said the results show that 73% of respondents said they were more likely to order a second alcoholic drink after redeeming a free drink.

Because of price markups on alcohol, he said, a bar or restaurant could recoup the cost of the first free drink with the customer’s purchase of a second drink.

“It all comes back to our idea that we want to reinstill some sense of community and strengthen these local businesses,” Friedman said. He added that establishments have “an opportunity to attract new customers that they never had before”.

Friedman said it was up to participating bars and restaurants to decide which drinks can be redeemed through Tippl.

Friedman said Tippl’s developers wanted to partner with as many bars and restaurants as possible. He added that he and his colleagues intended to expand Tippl into other markets at some point, but Omaha was the primary focus.

“We really want to make sure we get a foothold in Omaha, get our brand out there and really justify the product here,” he said.