Spotluck restaurant discount app makes Wilmington debut

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Co-founders Thomas, left and Sayler. .
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Spotluck  has made its debut in Wilmington.

The app for your mobile device was previously rolled out in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York City. Wilmington remains by far the smallest market for the app, which is available in the Philadelphia suburb.  

To date about 15 restaurants have signed up for Spotluck, which features discounts  along with a “game feature.”

The local Spotluck roster includes Tonic, a downtown Wilmington steakhouse, Ernest & Scott, Del Pez Mexican Gastropub FireStone Roasting House and Mrs. Robino’s

Spotluck CEO Cherian Thomas, who along with Bradford Sayler founded 22-employee Spotluck,  said the company saw a unique opportunity in Wilmington.

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Thomas says a restaurant can have a thriving lunch or dinner business, but may  struggle at other times during the week.

Spotluck came out of  Thomas’ master’s thesis at Georgetown University. It blends a “gaming” feature designed to keep users engaged in a world full of apps. 

A Spotluck user gets one spin a day that offers a sizable discount. Other restaurants typically offer  10 percent off.

On Tuesday a spin came up with the Riverfront FireStone restaurant offering a 25 percent discount.  

Thomas said he is comfortable with the existing restaurant roster and expects others to join in coming weeks. The current growth compares favorably with the Baltimore launch.

In all, Spotluck has 1,200 restaurants in its market area and about 200,000 users. 

Thomas does not believe the dynamic pricing model can be replicated by online restaurant reservations systems.

A few restaurants on Open table offers bonus points for diners who come at off times. Other dining services, such as UberEats  focus on delivery

Frequent dining on Open Table allows frequent diners to build up ponts that can result in a gift certificate.

The SpotLuck app is available for both IOS (iPhone) and Android devices through GooglePlay. The start-up is based in Bethesda, MD.

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