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New App Developed In Pittsburgh To Avoid Long Wait To Order Drinks At Bar

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With apps for just about everything, maybe it's no surprise there's now a brand new app to order your drink at a busy bar.

"Order drinks through the phone. Come here straight to the bar. We're able to make it for them, and the idea is that you get your drinks a lot quicker than normal," says bartender Craig Newham at the Rivertowne Bar North Shore.

No more standing at the bar waving your hands to get attention -- just use your phone and order.

So how long will you wait?

"Average, and this is on a busy day, about 45 to 50 seconds," Newham told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Tuesday.

It's call SRVD, the brainchild of Carnegie Mellon University graduate Sachal Lakhavani and his partners Lee Selkowitz and Nick Mele.

Lakhavani says it comes from personal experience at bars.

"You want to go there. You want to meet your friends. You want to meet new people. You want to dance. You want to play pool. Whatever it is that you want to do, it is not wait for your drink, and there was too much of waiting for a drink that was getting in the way," recalls Lakhavani.

The concept is simple: order drinks from your phone at a specific bar, pay and tip through a pre-enrolled credit card, a text message alerts you your drink is ready, go to a pick-up station, show your phone and get your drink.

A tablet behind the bar has your order along with a timer.

"When this turns to two minutes, it starts blinking yellow."

SRVD is in the early stages of rolling out this app.

In fact, only 4 bars in Pittsburgh are currently on the system.

But any bar can sign up for free until the end of the year.

As for customers, it's easy to download this app, and in fact it uses the same secure payment processing that Uber does.

The bars using the app now are Rivertowne North Shore, Belvedere's in Lawrenceville, Mixtape in Garfield, and Dad's in Monroeville.

But more are expected soon, all to save time.

"You're spending that time getting out of your Uber, walking into the bar, so your drink is ready the moment you walk into the bar."

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