Hi, I'm Alex đź‘‹
I'm a freelance developer that loves building web & mobile apps using ruby on rails and hotwire native. Here you'll find my latest projects, blog posts, and tutorials.
Portfolio
Client Projects
Below are a few rails apps that I've built for clients.
Tally Meals
Tally Meals is a meal reservation platform designed for college sororities and fraternities to streamline communal dining operations. Built with Rails 8, PostgreSQL, and deployed via Dokku, the platform leverages Hotwire Native to deliver iOS and Android mobile apps alongside the web interface, allowing members to reserve meals on the go.
The system enables chefs to build and publish menus with flexible scheduling options (daily, weekly, monthly, or semester-long), while members use the mobile app to reserve meals, request late plates, and manage dietary preferences. The platform generates detailed reservation lists with exact headcounts, allowing kitchen staff to prepare the right amount of food and reduce waste while improving efficiency.
Additional features include custom meal plan configurations with overuse prevention, detailed reporting on dining patterns, member feedback and star ratings, and flexible meal window settings with cutoff time controls to minimize food waste.
88 Restaurants
88 Restaurants is an all in one restaurant management platform. With over 100 restaurants it is currently processing over seven figures in annual revenue. I built it as a Rails 6.1 application using PostgreSQL, Bootstrap, Stripe, and is deployed on a custom Nginx/Passenger server configuration.
While the app has many features, it handles three core functions: table management, online ordering, and reservations. The most complex feature was the table management system, which lets restaurants draw their actual floor plans and manage seating in real-time. I solved this using Fabric.js for the interactive floor plan editor and Stimulus.js for front-end interactions, backed by a Rails API.
Stripe integration handles all payment processing across the platform. After 12 months of initial development and 4 years of continuous improvement (including managing a junior developer), the system has proven to be reliable and scalable.
Austin City Guide
Austin City Guide is a content management system that achieved #1 Google ranking for multiple high competition keywords such as "things to do in Austin" and now attracts 100,000+ unique visitors monthly. Built with Rails 6.1, MySQL, and deployed via Dokku.
The platform manages local business listings across categories like attractions, restaurants, and nightlife, plus a targeted blog strategy for long-tail keywords. The event calendar integration uses FullCalendar.js to showcase local happenings. Revenue is generated through a pay-per-click model where featured businesses pay negotiated fees when visitors click through to their booking pages.
Custom analytics built with Ahoy.js track detailed user behavior including page traffic, referral sources, time on page, and all click-through events. The dashboard provides comprehensive insights into both content performance and revenue generation.
Reservation Genie
Reservation Genie is a streamlined ticket sales and reservation management system for tour operators, processing over 7 figures in revenue. Built with Rails, MySQL, and deployed on Nginx/Passenger infrastructure.
The platform handles online ticket sales, reservation management, and seasonal schedule creation. Tour operators can set up inventory management for different tour types and time slots, while customers book directly through the system. For payments, I used Active Merchant, allowing tour operators to use whichever payment processor they prefer.
After 6 months of development, I've maintained and updated the platform for 5 years, serving tour companies with a reliable booking solution that scales with their business needs.
Testimonials
Hear from the Clients I've Helped Grow
"One codebase, three platforms—web, iOS, and Android apps powered by Rails and Hotwire Native. The native mobile experience is seamless, and it's streamlined our dining operations across multiple chapters."
"Our platform processes seven figures annually across 100+ restaurants. From custom table management to Stripe-integrated ordering, the Rails app has been rock solid for 4+ years now."
"Within six months, our Google ranking jumped from page 2 to #1. That SEO work transformed Austin City Guide from a side project into my full-time business with 100k+ monthly visitors."
"I needed a website that actually drives sales, not just looks good. The strategy and execution delivered exactly that—more customers finding us online, more revenue, and I can focus on farming instead of tech headaches."
"Five years running, and the system still handles bookings flawlessly for our tour operators. The reliability has been incredible—we focus on growing the business instead of managing tech issues."
