Photos courtesy of Just Split It
Split the bill easily with new app at 30th
Avenue Restaurant Week
AUGUST 2 0 1 9 I BOROMAG.COM 31
The annual 30th Avenue Restaurant
Week in Astoria is back this month
with a little twist – a new way of
splitting the bill with your friends.
Just Split It, a new app for iOS or
Android created by three lifelong
friends from Astoria, will be rolled
out in several restaurants during the weeklong
celebration of food and dining on one
of the neighborhood’s busiest streets.
The restaurant week, which is hyper-localized
to 30th Avenue, is the first of its kind according
to Frank Arcabasicio, owner of the
Redken Saloon Salon and the director of the
30th Avenue Business Association.
“We’re the first small corridor to have their
own restaurant week,” said Arcabasicio.
“Other areas have called me to see how to
start one up themselves.”
The booming street is home to plenty of
great restaurants including Grand Cafe, Antika,
Katch, Queens Comfort and Sugar Freak.
In years past, the business association organized
the 30th Avenue Restaurant Week
by itself but this year, they’re getting a little
help from Just Split It.
Created by Martin Galeano, Vik Hristov
and Massimo D’Elia, Just Split It allows the
whole table to break up the bill based on
what each individual diner ordered. It saves
time, it saves money and it saves everyone
from that awkward dance around the check,
the founders say. It also gives you an opportunity
to earn a few points to your credit card.
“We took the most frustrating part of going
out with friends and made it as frictionless as
possible,” Galeano said.
In addition to itemizing the bill, the app,
which is also connected to the server and the
kitchen, allows for diners to request more
water or napkins or to reorder.
“We took the bill and then gamified it,”
Galeano said. “We developed the tools we
wanted as consumers.”
The idea came to Galeano one night in
2015 after he met a few friends for drinks in
Astoria.
Working as a broker on Wall Street at the
time, Galeano showed up after his friends
had already had a few drinks each. He ordered
a beer, and then another. But before
he knew it, his friends were ready to leave.
They got the bill and, at the demands of
the majority, split it evenly. Galeano paid
$40 for two beers.
Had the bar had Just Split It, he and everyone
he was with would have only had
to pay for what they’d ordered.
But that awkward situation can now be
avoided during 30th Avenue Restaurant
Week, which is set to take place Friday,
Aug. 23, to Sunday, Sept. 1.
The app, which is free to use, will be
available to use in Grand Cafe on 30th
Avenue and 37th Street, at Antika on 30th
Avenue and 36th Street, and a third restaurant
soon to be named.
The creators say they’re proud to introduce
Just Split It on 30th Avenue.
“It’s where we cut our teeth,” Galeano
said. “It’s become a neighborhood
thing.”
More information about participating
restaurants, deals and dates will be
made available closer to the opening
day. Information can be found at the 30th
Avenue Business Association’s Instagram
account, @30thavebusiness.
BY JACOB KAYE @JACOB_KAYE
FOOD + DRINK
/BOROMAG.COM
