What was the last place you went to eat out at in Rexburg? Did you try to go somewhere new, or did you just get McDonald's or Taco Bell again? Be honest.

Most students like to go to a safe, cheap option, something that they know they like and won't break the bank too much. But always playing it safe comes at the cost of expanding our palates.

Senior and computer science major Bryan Wilson wants to change that by encouraging students to explore new dining options.

Now What? Why not?

On Feb. 12, Wilson plans to launch Now What?, an app meant to help students in Rexburg discover local restaurants and meal deals. According to Wilson, a lot of students don't know about all the culinary options in town.

“The biggest problem that I’ve found is called discovery friction," said Wilson. "A lot of the time, when we stay inside, it’s mainly because we don’t know what to do. We often hear that lament in Rexburg that there’s nothing to do out here. What I’m trying to solve is to show everybody that there’s actually a lot to do.”

Wilson had the idea to create this app when he was working for DoorDash, where he noticed firsthand how students tended to overlook local restaurants.

“I noticed that everybody was buying from big chains," Wilson said. "There was Taco Bell orders, I was doing McDonald’s orders, Wendy’s, Panda Express. I was like, ‘There’s got to be more to Rexburg than just these big national chains.’”

Wilson said when he decided to put together Now What?, he started with "street contacting" to gauge students' knowledge of the Rexburg food scene.

“I interviewed about 350 different students and asked them to name the restaurants in Rexburg at the top of their heads, and most of them could only name four, with about three of those being corporate chains," Wilson said. "Out of the 50 different local restaurants in Rexburg, that’s a large gap.”

Wilson wants to close that discovery gap and hopes that Now What? will bring more attention to these local restaurants that students might not know about.

"I wanted to help the local guys out," Wilson said. "I wanted to find a way that I could get them attention.”

"Experience Rexburg"

Wilson started Now What? in September 2025, and until recently, it was a project that only he and his wife, Nivea, knew about.

Wilson said that one driving factor was the fact that when looking at restaurants online, it was hard to find the prices. He wants Now What? to offer that information upfront, such as the prices, the deals and when they expire.

“Whenever I wanted to do something, it was always so hard because I go to Google Maps, I’d go to Yelp, and the biggest thing that I look for is the price," Wilson said. "And you never really find the price for a lot of places specified.”

In order to build the app, Wilson went to local restaurants to ask for deals and if they would be willing to partner for exclusive deals. Wilson said that the process has "been a grind."

“I start going out and about Rexburg at 11 [a.m.] and then I come back in the afternoon," Wilson said. "I just go to as many local places as I can, ask them if they’ve got any Valentine’s specials going on, if they’re doing lunch specials, what their signature item is, and then if there’d be any exclusives they’d be willing to do with me.”

Wilson has partnerships with places like Kainoa's Hawaiian Grill and Paramount 5, and wants the Feb. 12 launch to coincide with exclusive deals for Valentine's Day. He also has giveaways planned with Kainoa's, Kiwi Loco and June's Place.

"So, how you enter the giveaway is just follow my page, and then I'm going to have a link to download the app," Wilson said. "Just prove that you've downloaded the app, send me a screenshot, and you'd be entered into the giveaway."

Wilson hopes that Now What? will help people close that discovery gap and explore restaurants in Rexburg that they may not know about.

"The overall goal for this is to experience Rexburg," Wilson said. "[There's] an 80% discovery gap that most people don't have, and so I really just want people to explore that other 80% of Rexburg."