This past month I've added a bunch of new updates to my coffee app, MN Coffee. The two big changes are a complete facelift of the UI and changing the name from MPLS Coffee to MN Coffee. The website and codebase still refer to MPLS Coffee, however the official app name in the iOS App Store has been updated to MN Coffee. I've yet to get the Android store listing updated to MN Coffee. I hope to get that done this month.
MPLS Coffee ---> MN Coffee
This name change should have been done from the beginning. When I first wrote the app, I just wanted to find the best coffee shops in Minneapolis. I soon realized that I wanted to include St. Paul as well. Then I wanted to make the app something that I could pop open no matter where in the state I was and still be able to find good coffee.
I feel like the new name is more inclusive and accurately reflects the app and idea.
Major UI Changes
The new UI changes are a big leap forward for getting the right information in front of the users without having them click so much.
- I added a little toast when the user clicks a coffee shop. Inside that toast/bottom sheet is the coffee shop name, hours, reviews, AI summary, and then different highlighted features that came from Google. If the coffee shop was marked as having "Great Coffee" an icon with the Great Coffee label appears. The same goes for a variety of other elements such as Laptop Friendly, Pet Policy, Wifi, and if they have outdoor seating.
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The data export from Outscraper provides a long list of properties that are helpful to end users. Here's that list and what is now displayed - by category - on the coffee shop detail page:
Location details (showing only enabled attributes) Category Details Service options Curbside pickup, Takeout, Dine-in Highlights Great coffee, Great tea selection Popular for Breakfast, Solo dining, Good for working on laptop Accessibility Wheelchair accessible entrance, Wheelchair accessible restroom, Wheelchair accessible seating Offerings Coffee, Quick bite Dining options Breakfast, Dessert, Seating Amenities Gender-neutral restroom, Restroom, Wi-Fi Atmosphere Casual, Cozy, Trendy Crowd Family-friendly, LGBTQ+ friendly, Transgender safespace Planning Accepts reservations: No Payments Credit cards, Debit cards, NFC mobile payments Children Good for kids Parking Free street parking Pets Dogs allowed Other LGBTQ+ friendly - The updated list page displays the same information but in a list format that is sorted by closest to the user. I included the same details as the toast popup as well as the address, get directions arrow, and the AI summary information provided by Google.
- Then there is the updated about screen. Nothing really big to talk about there other than what the app is about and why I think it's cool. Standard about page stuff here.
That's it for this month
I'm having a lot of fun building this app when I have the time. Between consulting and Big Little Cities, I have a couple of hours per month to work on this. Claude AI coding agents have been a pretty big help as well. Using AI to develop alongside me has been super efficient but also really frustrating at times. Overall, I think it's a net positive, though. Maybe I will write a post about that sometime soon.