Random Lunch Update History — How User Feedback Shapes the App

After Launch, the Real Work Begins

I thought submitting to the App Store was the finish line. It wasn't. It was the starting line.

Reviews and support emails started coming in almost immediately — things users loved, things that frustrated them, features they wished existed. A simple app turned out to have a surprisingly long list of what people wanted from it.

v1.1 — Distance Filter

The most common request by far: let me control the search radius.

"I want restaurants within 5 minutes on foot." "Only places within 500 meters of my office."

The initial version had a fixed radius I had chosen arbitrarily. Different users have different tolerances for walking. In v1.1, I added a distance slider: 300m, 500m, 1km, or 2km.

Positive reviews picked up noticeably after this update.

v1.2 — Favorites

The second most requested feature: save restaurants you like.

With favorites, you can add places you've been and enjoyed. The app can either include them in the regular random pool, or you can switch to a "favorites only" mode — randomizing from your saved list instead of all nearby options.

It created two distinct use modes: "Discover somewhere new" and "Pick from places I already like." Turns out people want both, at different times.

v1.3 — Widget Support

The widget was the most technically challenging update.

The goal: tap a home screen widget and get a random restaurant selection without opening the app. Full decision in one tap.

Implementing it meant learning WidgetKit properly for the first time — specifically, understanding that widgets don't run in real time like apps. They operate on a pre-scheduled timeline. I designed around this by having the widget refresh periodically with a new random pick, so it always shows something current.

Where It Stopped

After v1.3 shipped, I moved focus to other projects. Random Lunch updates paused.

There were ideas in the backlog — a group mode where multiple people spin simultaneously and the overlapping picks get highlighted, auto-filtering by weather or time of day. They stayed in the backlog.

The app still runs. Reviews still come in occasionally. Every time I check, I think "I should revisit this." Maybe eventually I will.