For some students who go out for a night at the bars, it’s not uncommon to wake up with something missing, whether it’s a wallet or a phone.

Joe’s Brewery is the first campus bar to try an online lost and found platform called Crowdfind, which allows people to claim their lost belongings online.

The campus bar began using the service this month.

Crowdfind is a startup created and run by L Street Collaborative, a venture development firm that acquires, incubates and launches technology companies.

Benji Friedl, account executive for L Street Collaborative and University alumnus, explained that Crowdfind allows businesses to post pictures of lost items online.

“Say people leave at 2 a.m., and they realized they left their stuff in the morning but the bar doesn’t open until afternoon — they can go online and take a look at the virtual lost and found and actually identify their object,” Friedl said. “It immediately gets rid of panic and makes the process easier.”

The website allows users to post found items as well as file claims for lost items at specific locations.

Mike Ferrin, front door manager at Joe’s Brewery, said people leave their belongings and clothes at the bar “all the time, every day.”

“Now if you lose something, you can go on the website; however, most people still call and look for it,” Ferrin said.

Typically, he said, the bar receives about four to five phone calls in the morning asking if the missing items were found. The lost items are sometimes claimed, he added, but often sit in the bar unclaimed.

Nathan Scott, Firehaus employee and senior in Media, said the small items that are left behind are stored in a box. Larger items, such as coats and jackets, are stored in the basement until the owner comes to claim it. 

Other bars such as KAM’S, Murphy’s Pub and Legends Bar & Grill use a similar approach as Firehaus. 

Crowdfind currently has plans to negotiate with other Champaign-Urbana businesses to use its virtual platform, Friedl said.

“We are currently in negotiations with Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit along with introductory talks with the University of Illinois Athletic Department,” Friedl said. “Joe’s Brewery is currently on a trial basis, and we are looking to cover Champaign in a Crowdfind blanket to help set up a uniform process to find your lost items.”

Edwin can be reached at [email protected].