A website launched recently in Vancouver that lets you know how busy grocery stores are at any given time is now able to help you figure out if there's a wait at your favourite restaurant.
has now added restaurant listings and will take user-submitted data to keep website visitors up-to-date on wait times and capacity.
Mae Woods, who works in marketing, and software engineer Pan Khandtidhara, teamed up to create Howbsy.com (“How busy, but without the u,”) in response to the frustration felt by many who encountered long waits to enter stores in the community.
Along with tracking grocery store line-ups, Howbsy.com also lets users input current data about waits at places like banks, liquor stores, pharmacies, hardware stores and recycling depots across Metro Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and the Fraser Valley.
"We built Howbsy to help our community during COVID and never imagined it would go viral. We now want to use our large user base of 100,000+ to help local restaurants as they reopen," explains Woods.
The addition of restaurants will allow users - both diners and business operators - to stay connected and informed.
"Now people can share their wait times and restaurants can share their specials or relevant information about their businesses in our community," adds Woods.
With files from Megan Lalonde
