New App Offers Wheel of Bethesda Restaurant Discounts

You only get one spin per day (Rockville Town Square restaurants included too)

August 7, 2014 3:45 p.m.

Spotluck, a new phone app developed by local residents with locally-owned restaurants in mind, allows diners in Bethesda and Rockville to spin a wheel to receive a discount at area restaurants.

The app works like this: There’s 10 local restaurants on the wheel, you hit the “spin for hotspot” button and when it lands on the restaurant, you get the deal.

In my case, I chose Bethesda as my hub (you can also choose Rockville), then I hit the spin button and received a 20 percent discount at La Panetteria. You can only spin the wheel once per day and must use the deal that day.

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Other deals on the wheel I could choose at the time of my spin include 10 percent off Bethesda restaurants such as Grapeseed, Roof, Brickside and Harp & Fiddle, although these restaurants offer bigger discounts if your spin lands on one of them. The app uses an algorithm to provide deals based on consumer spending habits (for example, discounts may be larger on Mondays, when restaurants typically don't have a lot of customers, while they may be smaller on Fridays, when restaurants are busy.)

The Rockville restaurants included at the time of my spin were Carbon, 82 Steak Out, Thai Pavillion, La Canela, Trapezaria, Taste of Saigon and Spice Xing. My spin netted me a 20 percent discount at Thai Pavilion.

Rockville and Bethesda are the only cities so far included in the new app, which launched June 2 in Rockville and July 29 in Bethesda. The app is available in both the Apple and Android app stores. It was created to connect customers with locally-owned restaurants, according to the app's website.

Both founders are Montgomery County residents.

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