Meet the American student mapping his way through every Spoons in London

For many tourists, London means red buses, famous landmarks and a stroll in Hyde Park. However, for Roberto Carlos Thompson, it means Wetherspoon, and a mission to visit every branch in the city before heading home in May.

The New York journalism student is spending four months interning in London and, like many visitors before him, he has found himself fascinated by British culture.

But, while some tourists settle for Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea or a ride on the London Eye, Roberto has chosen a slightly different cultural landmark: Wetherspoon.

The idea came to him in the most fitting place possible – inside a Wetherspoon. While enjoying a lager at The Shakespeare’s Head on Kingsway, Roberto began browsing the official Wetherspoon website.

He quickly realised that while it offered addresses and opening hours, it did not quite provide the full experience needed for someone on a serious spoons pilgrimage.

Robert wanted more than a list, instead wanting a tool that could track visits, show locations, save favourites, record notes and help him plan the next stop on his journey through busy bar queues and famously distinctive carpets.

So, with the help of his professor, Adam Peruta, Roberto turned to OpenAI’s Codex.

Codex is an AI-powered coding assistant that can turn plain natural instructions into working software. Instead of needing to write every line of code manually, users can describe what they want to build, and Codex helps create it behind the scenes.

Roberto and Adam began with a simple prompt: “I want to build a mobile optimised website that helps me find Wetherspoons Pubs in the UK. I am on a quest to visit as many as I can. I’d like a map view (and option for list view) along with ratings. Before building, ask me questions to make this as awsome as possible.”

From there, the project quickly took shape. In just one hour, Spoons Quest was ready.

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The website became a digital companion for Roberto’s pub challenge, offering features that any dedicated Wetherspoon explorer would appreciate. Users can check in to pubs they have visited, mark favourites, create a wish list, leave notes and reviews, view nearby locations and track overall progress.

Roberto and Adam worked together to refine the site. Roberto explained what he needed from a user’s perspective, while Adam helped run updates through Codex and send them back for review. What started as a fun idea over a pint soon became a practical, interactive platform.

Today, the site includes a progress dashboard, directions to the nearest pub and a running tally of how many Wetherspoon pubs Roberto has visited so far. It is part travel diary, part pub guide and part proof that AI tools can help turn a casual idea into something real.

The project also shows how tools like Codex are expanding beyond traditional coding. For students, journalists, creators and anyone with an idea, AI can offer a way to build projects without needing advanced technical skills.

Roberto did not need to speak a programming language fluently to get started. He simply described what he wanted, refined the results and used AI as a collaborator.

His mission may involve pints and pub carpets, but it also reflects a bigger shift in how students can use technology creatively. Whether building a website, launching a personal project or solving real-world problems, AI tools are making it easier to move from idea to execution.

For Roberto, that execution just happens to involve visiting as many Wetherspoons as possible before May.

Cheers to that.

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Featured image via Google Maps