Vancouver-headquartered Earls Restaurants Ltd. has partnered with digital innovation firm Invoke to create the "Social Menu App," which the restaurant chain said is the first time a restaurant menu is being included in a Facebook app.
The app will allow users to interact with others about the restaurant's menu. For example, they can hover over photos of specific dishes and see which of their friends like them and send out invitations to try out the menu items.
"We know how much our guests love food and love to share their Earls dining experiences on social media, so we wanted to give them an opportunity to experience our mouthwatering dishes in a more visceral way," said Monique Gomel, Earls vice-president of marketing. "It's more than just a dynamic menu; it's really about engaging in conversation.
Rebecca Marstaller, Invoke's managing director, said, "The Social Menu takes popular food glamour shots to the next level by adding a meaningful layer of context, making it a place for connecting, not just ogling."
The app is available on Earls' Facebook page.
The company said a mobile app is "coming soon."
Also Vancouver-based, Invoke is a web and mobile social app developer and was founded by David Tedman, Dario Mell and Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite.
