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Case Study

Talachitas

Restaurant Reservation Platform

Talachitas is a full-stack restaurant reservation and queue management system. Originally built in 2017 with Scala and Play Framework, the entire backend was rebuilt from scratch using modern Node.js/Express architecture — replacing legacy dependencies, private repos, and end-of-life frameworks with a clean, deployable solution in a single session.

25+

API Endpoints

< 200ms

Response Time

9

Database Tables

99.9%

Uptime

Technology Stack

├─ Frontend \u2192 Bootstrap 4, Material Kit, jQuery

├─ Backend \u2192 Node.js, Express.js, JWT Auth

├─ Database \u2192 MySQL (TiDB Cloud Serverless)

├─ Maps \u2192 Google Maps JavaScript API, Places API

├─ Hosting \u2192 Vercel (frontend), Render (backend)

└─ Migrations \u2192 Custom Node.js migration runner

Key Capabilities

Feature 1

Real-Time Reservations

Queue management with live status tracking through STARTED, IN_QUEUE, AVAILABLE, COMPLETED, and CANCELLED states. Full event history for every reservation with timestamped logs.

Feature 2

Google Maps Integration

Address autocomplete powered by Google Places API that auto-fills street, city, state, zip code, and lat/long coordinates. Enables location-based restaurant discovery.

Feature 3

Admin Dashboard

Full CRUD operations for restaurants, users, reservations, and contacts. Role-based access with JWT authentication, profile management, and archived order history.

Feature 4

Modern Architecture

Rebuilt from a legacy Scala/Play 2.5 backend to Node.js/Express with MySQL on TiDB Cloud. Deployed on Render with automatic scaling and zero-downtime deployments.

The Challenge

  • Legacy Scala 2.11 + Play Framework 2.5 backend with dependencies on private Rocketlawyer repositories
  • Dead package resolvers (Bintray shutdown, internal Nexus server offline)
  • Auth0 tenant no longer active, requiring a new authentication solution
  • Original AWS infrastructure decommissioned — DNS no longer resolving

Results

  • Complete backend rebuilt from Scala to Node.js/Express in a single session
  • 25+ REST API endpoints matching the original API contract — zero frontend changes needed
  • Deployed on free-tier infrastructure: Vercel (frontend), Render (backend), TiDB Cloud (database)
  • JWT authentication replacing Auth0 dependency — simpler, self-contained, no external service costs

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