Case study · Mobile app platform
ShiftSurge: A Mobile Platform Connecting Restaurants With Verified Hospitality Workers
A mobile platform where restaurants publish exclusive perks and verified hospitality workers claim and redeem them by QR code, with analytics and billing.
- Client: ShiftSurge (Corey White, Founder)
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Year: 2025–2026
- Live site: shiftsurge.com
- Built with: React 18 + TypeScript, Vite PWA, Tailwind + shadcn/ui, Express, PostgreSQL + Drizzle ORM, Supabase Auth, WebSockets, Web Push + Firebase Cloud Messaging, Stripe subscriptions, Google Places API, Capacitor (iOS + Android), Playwright
The Problem
Restaurants have slow hours to fill and want loyal regulars who appreciate the craft. Hospitality workers are exactly that audience, but a public coupon app reaches everyone and rewards no one. ShiftSurge needed a members-only platform with three distinct roles, real-time claim and redemption tracking, notifications that reach a phone even when the app is closed, and a subscription model restaurants would pay for.
What We Did
- Built the platform as an installable Progressive Web App: React 18 and TypeScript on Vite, a service worker for offline use, and a mobile-first design with separate palettes for workers and restaurants.
- Built the Express and PostgreSQL backend with Drizzle ORM, Supabase Auth with role-based access for workers, restaurant admins, and superadmins, and a WebSocket server for live events.
- Shipped the worker experience: a personalized feed sorted by distance, location-based fraud prevention, one-tap claims, QR and unique-code redemption at the venue, favorites, and push notifications.
- Shipped the restaurant side: invite-based onboarding with Google Places autocomplete, a Promotion Design Studio with templates, audience targeting, scheduling, and live preview, plus a dashboard with real-time metrics, a pending-redemptions queue, and worker management.
- Built the superadmin console: user and organization management, worker verification, audit logs, employee-limit enforcement, and a five-tab analytics dashboard.
- Wired dual-provider push (VAPID Web Push for desktop, Firebase Cloud Messaging for phones) so notifications arrive with the app closed, and Stripe subscriptions with hosted checkout, customer portal, and webhook sync gating premium features.
- Coordinated delivery of native iOS and Android wrappers with Capacitor through a contracted developer, and set up the Stripe account for the business.
Results
| Measure | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| User roles with distinct experiences | 0 | 3 (worker, restaurant, superadmin) |
| Platforms | None | Web PWA, iOS, Android |
| Push channels | None | Web Push + FCM, works with app closed |
| Redemption methods | None | QR code and unique code |
| Billing | None | Stripe subscriptions, two plans |
Outcome
ShiftSurge is live at shiftsurge.com as an installable app, with native iOS and Android wrappers delivered in January 2026 and restaurant billing running through Stripe. Restaurants can be onboarded by invite and publishing perks within a session, and every claim and redemption is visible in real time on their dashboard.