Elgin firm launches app for gluten-free needs
A delayed flight during a family vacation sparked the idea for a new app.
Charles Falls was on his way home and waiting for his plane in Miami with his family. To kill time, they looked for something to eat.
But his daughter, who has Celiac disease and cannot have any foods made with wheat or even prepared near wheat, had a tough time finding gluten-free offerings using her iPhone.
When he returned home, Falls started to think about how to make it easier for gluten-free dieters to find places to eat that are also free of so-called cross-contamination of wheat in the kitchens. That's when he started developing Alex's Gluten Free Spots app under his Elgin-based DC Interactive Group, a web design and marketing firm.
“We've produced apps before, but I asked my daughter what she would do differently,” he said.
The new app is now available for free for about 3 to 6 months in the iTunes Store. Afterward, Falls may charge $1 for a download. An app for Android phone users may come later, Falls said.
You can search nationwide for a restaurant that has gluten-free offerings, add new spots, save your favorites and rate restaurants. Listings will be updated automatically for users, Falls said.
Surfing: Entrepreneur Adam Fried has released a new free mobile application called Pixuru, which allows you to use your iPhone to produce high-quality wall art. It's available in the App Store. Pixuru will be available for Android by early summer. You can send photos directly to Pixuru's printing facility, choose the size and type of print, such as canvas, metal or wood, and receive the order within a few days. Fried was born and raised in Deerfield and now lives in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago.
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