Yelp is pretty extensive, but there's one area it hasn't penetrated yet: stadium food.
As any sports fan will tell you, finding good food at sports stadiums is a crapshoot. As sports blogger Daina Falk explains, snack envy is endemic. When you see someone walk by with a Shake Shack burger you will look on your lowly hot dog with regret, especially if you didn't know that there was a Shake Shack nearby.
Falk, whose father David Falk is best known as Michael Jordan's agent during Jordan's NBA days, had the common experience of having a great idea for an app. The concept might have gone nowhere if not for Daina's chance encounter with Ian Schafer, the CEO of New York-based digital marketing firm DeepFocus. Schafer notes that although some stadium apps help fans find food, there's none that addresses every stadium. Schafer liked the idea so much that he hired a programmer to create Hungry Fan, an iOS app that went live on Monday.
See also: Apple Feature to Turn MLB Stadiums Into Interactive Playgrounds
The app claims to be able to locate all the concession stands in more than 40 Major League Baseball and National Football League stadiums in the U.S. and Canada and helps fans find vegan and gluten-free options. Getting such info was trickier than Schafer thought it would be. While some, like the Ralph Williams Stadium where the Buffalo Bills play, were upfront with data about the stands, most were tight-lipped. To get around such restrictions, Schafer and Falk used Task Rabbit and Craigslist to recruit people to take pics of the menus. "In Soldier Field, our guy got thrown out," says Falk, referring to the home of the Chicago Bears.

Despite the work and the five figures the app cost to develop, Schafer and Falk are confident they have a hit in the making — one that will be advertiser-friendly. (Pepsi is its first sponsor.) For now the plan is to add NBA and hockey stadiums to the app. From there, the app may expand into airports. Meanwhile, the two expect to send out more requests for help during the late winter and spring. Most stadiums switch up their concession stands every year, which means much of the data on the app will need to be updated.
"It took several months to coordinate and gather the info," says Schafer. "And now we're going to have to do it all again."
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