18-04-2025
Eat Vermont app serves up local flavor with AI-powered perks
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22 FOX44) — 'Food-preneur' Senator Rocket launched Eat Vermont with one goal— to create a tight knit community bonded over their favorite local bites. He says the mobile app, which originally started as a side project to go along with his Instagram, now has about 5,000 downloads since it launched this year.
'This is a way of creating another layer of engagement and really feeling like you're an insider in the food scene,' said the app's creator.
Eat Vermont allows users to access a comprehensive list of restaurants and their current menus, create customizable 'food trails,' view video content and use location specific search tools— including an AI chatbot called Evie.
'We've spent a lot of time using AI to make sure that we can adapt to the user specifically,' said Rocket, 'so you can put your dietary preferences into the app, and it'll help you identify better fits.'
The founder says he is most excited about the launch of new 'member perks,' which will feature access to secret menu items and special discounts at some restaurants.
'What we're asking for at Eat Vermont, is for the restaurant owners and the chefs to be creative and to give us the real authentic dishes, or to give it their creative flair— things that would be a little experimental that they wouldn't normally put on their menu,' he said.
Arwa Dawman, the owner of Zaytoona, a Burlington-based middle eastern restaurant, says she was eager to connect with Rocket. Eat Vermont and Rocket's 33,000 followers on Instagram, she says, have helped draw in business.
'Diversity is not that known, so having that platform that has a sense of genuineness and a sense of community is very important as a new small business.'
Dawman says she and her staff are excited about the possibility of a secret menu and will start offering a 10% dinner-time discount.
Memberships, which are used to fund the app, cost about $8 per month. Rocket says people can also use a free version to see local events.
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