A local startup has debuted its nightlife application to bar-goers visiting downtown Charleston. Rightly named, BarGlance claims to be the newest, most efficient way of searching nightlife activity within the city. The company currently has 16 locations in the downtown area with more on the way. Current bars include:

Bay Street Biergarten, Tabbuli, NV Dance Lounge, Henry’s, DECO, King’s Leaf, El Jefe, Juanita Greenberg’s, Charleston Beer Works, Pour Taproom, Felix, Ink N Ivy, Uptown Social, Palmetto Brewing, Cooper River Brewing, and Fatt’y Beer Works.

Co-Founder Justin Moss stated that, “Despite its popularity, ‘going out’ remains one of the least technology-driven activities in our society. We use apps for dating, driving, eating, banking, and traveling, but not nightlife. By leveraging technology, we can match bar-goers with the situations and surrounding that are most desirable to them. Merging the freedom of choice with the power of visualization, we are able to create a seamless nightlife experience.”

The BarGlance maxim is “Go out smarter.” Their mission is to become a one-stop shop for all things nightlife. A mobile application, which is available for download on both Android and Apple devices, lets users see what’s going inside bars without having to be there. Live stream cameras give eight-second-long “glances” that allow viewers to gauge elements such as crowd size and atmosphere.

Once in use, the app automatically populates a list of bars around the user. Bar name, distance to the venue, and a profile picture are displayed on the home screen. Camera icons let you know which bars have live stream cameras inside them.

When a location is selected, the venue’s profile opens within the app. Here, bar owners and managers can upload photos, add a description, and edit many other business-specific details, all from their phones. Specials and entertainment text boxes within the bar profile give businesses a way to market themselves in real-time. Bars can display food and drink specials, draft lists, live music, happy hours, or any other information they’d like to showcase.

Other app functionality includes:

Map View -- A location-based map shows users what bars are around them. Pins indicate where surrounding bars are located. Simply touch one of the pins to see the bar’s information.

Search -- Users can locate venues based on criteria such as price, neighborhood, and bar type. Unlike current search-based platforms, BarGlance segments the city’s nightlife scene into areas--neighborhoods with high concentrations of bars. King Street, for example, Charleston’s premier nightlife destination, is listed first.

Events – Partner bars can list upcoming events for users to see. Once the event date has elapsed, the listing disappears.

With over 1,000 downloads in the first week, the app is starting to gain traction with locals. BarGlance is currently working on a messaging platform that will allow users to ask questions pertaining to bars and nightlife as well as receive feedback from other bar-goers.

Whether you’re looking for live music, drink specials, or just a cool new spot to check out, BarGlance displays all the information needed to help you quickly decide where to go.