Pool is a food deals app for UChicago.

Pool is a food deals app for University of Chicago students, with 2-for-1 deals at Hyde Park restaurants. The app is free right now. This quarter the deals are 2-for-1 12 oz açaí bowls at Deep Purpl (from October 8), 2-for-1 subs at Subway 53rd Street, 2-for-1 half chicken plates at Nando's PERi-PERi (from October 8), 2-for-1 Philly sandwiches at B'Gabs Comfort Cafe (from September 30), 2-for-1 jerk or honey wings at Ja' Grill, 2-for-1 Wagyu Steak Frites at Chemistry, 2-for-1 wraps, salads and bowls at Litehouse Whole Food Grill, 2-for-1 chicken shawarma wraps at Cedars, a free refresher with any treat at StruggleBeard Bakery (from September 29), a free third taco or a free drink with a Taco Dinner at 5 Rabanitos, 2-for-1 Indian combo meals at Rajun Cajun (from October 1), 2-for-1 chicken and waffle bites at Dawn A.M. Eatery (from October 1), 2-for-1 lattes at Sweet Drip (from October 1) and 2-for-1 sushi, pizza and more at The Sit Down Café & Sushi Bar (from October 1). The first deals went live Monday, September 28. You book a time in the app, show your pass at the counter, and pay the restaurant for one.

What it is

A 2-for-1 food deals app for students

Who it's for

Verified University of Chicago students

Where

Hyde Park, Chicago

Price

Free right now · iPhone & Android

How a deal works

Most deals on Pool work the same way. Order two eligible items and the cheaper one is free. Open the deal in the app, book a time window for that day (most restaurants use them) and show your pass at the counter. The pass has your name and a ticking clock, so a screenshot won't work. You pay the restaurant for one, plus tax and any gratuity. Pool doesn't handle payment. Each deal comes back 30 days after you use it.

Friends on Pool

Add friends from your house or your classes. When they redeem a deal you see where, and when you redeem one they see it too, unless you turn it off. Nobody sees what anyone spent. You send invites from the app.

Who Pool is for

Pool is for verified University of Chicago students. You sign up with a UChicago email, so the deals stay with students. For now Pool is only in Hyde Park, at restaurants students already walk past every day.

Who writes this

Victor Hardt is a second-year at the University of Chicago studying Economics and Data Science, and the founder of Pool. He lives in Hyde Park. The guides are his. Each guide shows when it was last updated. If something is wrong, he fixes it on the same page.

He is also a general partner at LTF Ventures, a student-run VC fund at UChicago. LTF gives student startups non-equity grants. The club and startup guides mention his role wherever LTF comes up.

From rides to deals

Pool started as a way for UChicago students to coordinate airport trips over breaks, and some older search results still show that. Now Pool is a food deals app, with 2-for-1 deals at restaurants students already walk past and a friends tab that shows where people go.

Get Pool

The app is free right now for verified UChicago students, on iPhone and Android.

Download for iPhoneGet it on Google Play

On Pool this quarter. The app is free right now.

  • 2-for-1 12 oz açaí bowls at Deep Purpl
  • 2-for-1 subs at Subway 53rd Street
  • 2-for-1 half chicken plates at Nando's PERi-PERi
  • 2-for-1 Philly sandwiches at B'Gabs Comfort Cafe
  • 2-for-1 jerk or honey wings at Ja' Grill
  • 2-for-1 Wagyu Steak Frites at Chemistry
  • 2-for-1 wraps, salads and bowls at Litehouse Whole Food Grill
  • 2-for-1 chicken shawarma wraps at Cedars
  • a free refresher with any treat at StruggleBeard Bakery
  • a free third taco or a free drink with a Taco Dinner at 5 Rabanitos
  • 2-for-1 Indian combo meals at Rajun Cajun
  • 2-for-1 chicken and waffle bites at Dawn A.M. Eatery
  • 2-for-1 lattes at Sweet Drip
  • 2-for-1 sushi, pizza and more at The Sit Down Café & Sushi Bar

Live Monday, September 28. StruggleBeard Bakery starts Tuesday, September 29. B'Gabs Comfort Cafe starts Wednesday, September 30. Rajun Cajun, Dawn A.M. Eatery, Sweet Drip and The Sit Down Café & Sushi Bar start Thursday, October 1. Deep Purpl and Nando's PERi-PERi start Thursday, October 8.

Get Pool

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