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What a great profitability workshop in collaboration with Square! Sterling Douglass, Co Founder & CEO of Chowly and Ming-Tai Huh, Head of Food & Beverage at Square, covered essential strategies for boosting #restaurant profits, and here are the top takeaways: * Optimize Your Tech Stack: Understand how to streamline operations by leveraging your tech tools, from POS to off-premise platforms. * Master Your Digital Storefront: Treat your online presence like a second physical location, ensuring it's up-to-date and optimized for conversions. * Increase Efficiency: Use technology to reduce labor time while enhancing customer interactions—resulting in higher guest satisfaction. * Leverage Data for Marketing: Use Google Ads smartly to create demand and target customers who are searching for your type of food. * Drive Repeat Business: Focus on converting one-time customers into repeat visitors through loyalty programs and optimized digital ordering. PS: If you'd like a link to the recording, leave a comment.

Retailers and brand owners have many challenges to contend with and one that undoubtedly unites them is dealing with legacy systems and silos. It's never an intentional thing of course to have your technology and systems hamstrung by legacy infrastructure but it just happens. It stealthily creeps up on companies. Thankfully there are out-of-the-box, cloud-based and pay-as-you-go type solutions now available but care has to be taken because play around with tailoring them too much at your peril because you could be heading down that legacy road again. Here's some thoughts in my column on the issue, which is supported by the good guys BetterCommerce. https://lnkd.in/eFkZjqgF

🎉 Introducing POSperity, our groundbreaking Point of Sale system designed to transform your service experience! With a suite of innovative features, POSperity streamlines operations, boosts work efficiency, and cuts down on time waste like never before. 🕒💼 Now you can effortlessly juggle multiple revenue streams, and work with "fast checks," “create tables”, “create conferences”, and manage “takeout”, all with a few clicks. Organizing tables? You can now reserve spots and assign seating effortlessly. We have made sure that splitting checks and customizing orders with condiments and combo meals never have been easier. 🍽🍹 Plus, POSperity's enterprise architecture means tailor-made adjustments across all levels - enterprise, property, and revenue center - directly from our hotel management system. But that's not all! Whether you're a bustling restaurant, a lively bar, a cozy café, or a detail shop, POSperity is your ticket to next-level service. 🏨🛍 We're excited to welcome you aboard - let's elevate your sales experience together with POSperity! 🚀 #POSperitySystem #HospitalityInnovations #NextGenPOS #RestaurantTech #HospitalityGrowthTools #InnovativePOS

Showcase Your Products with a modern storefront. Whether you're a liquor store, restaurant owner or own other retail stores, our storefronts are tailored to highlight your products with flair. From sleek designs to easy checkout and everything in between, let your products steal the spotlight with a storefront created just for your business. Ready to dazzle your customers? Schedule a Demo with us today! Link in bio #storefront #brandingmatters #customerexperience #shopwithstyle #productshowcase #retailrevolution #productspotlight #retailinnovation #shopinstyle #dallassmallbusiness #dallastexas #growith #banter #uncode

The landscape of restaurant technology has evolved dramatically in the last two decades. What once was a simple tech stack centered around POS systems has ballooned into a complex ecosystem comprising dozens of software subscriptions and platforms. - Red Robin faced $60 million in tech debt from failed "build" attempts. - Wingstop and Jersey Mike’s are adopting homegrown solutions and licensing their POS systems, respectively. - Whataburger employs both in-house and third-party solutions to optimize their tech stack. Why does this matter? The decision to build or buy tech solutions can significantly impact restaurant operations. On one hand, custom technology can cater to specific needs. On the other, purchasing existing solutions can be more efficient and cost-effective. Moreover, managing multiple vendors poses its own set of challenges, leading many to consider consolidation: - Red Robin is reducing its tech stack from 20 down to 10-12 platforms. - Birdcall is exploring licensing its proprietary POS to other brands. Ultimately, the goal is to strike the right balance between innovation and efficiency. As Keith McLellan of Whataburger suggests, "Buy if someone else has perfected it; build if it’s unique to your brand." So, where do you stand in the "build or buy" debate? How is your organization navigating the complexities of modern tech stacks? #RestaurantTech #Innovation #TechEcosystem #BuildOrBuy #EfficiencyOptimization

The article touches on the vital role e-commerce infrastructure plays for restaurants. With the ever-increasing competition, the argument for a strong online presence is more relevant than ever. Some might say it’s a luxury, but I believe it’s becoming an essential part of survival. One point that stood out is how a seamless ordering process directly impacts customer satisfaction and retention. It’s not just about having an online ordering system; it's about optimizing it for a smooth experience. Would love to hear others' thoughts on whether investing in e-commerce solutions truly drives up revenue for restaurants or if it’s just another expense. Let’s discuss how this applies to our business strategies and what real results we’ve seen! https://lnkd.in/gC--xG2e

JLP's purpose, to be a force for good, mandates them to do things ‘differently and better’. But even while getting the business back on track takes time, ‘differently and better’ should be just that. The promised focus on refreshing stores is good. Incorporating interactive experiences to bring more joy and education, sustainability initiatives, improved customer service, new product development, and an improved website will help JLP grow its top line and appeal to a broader audience. Customers want to be amused in stores and feel they are getting something new. Over at Waitrose, James Bailey says the business will invest more in keeping prices down and improving the look of its stores, including fresh food counters and in-store services – good thinking as Value for Living teases Value for Money. The separate management teams at Waitrose & Partners and John Lewis & Partners must take responsibility for reinvention, pursuing new opportunities to grow the top line. A focus on joyous retail and the right tools for engaging service will continue moving in the right direction—onwards and upwards—and bring their customers along, singing their praises and dancing in the aisles.  #brandexperiencedesign Household #famefansandfortune

Kiosks have already earned a reputation for making operations more smooth and efficient. Here are three ways they make that happen... https://lnkd.in/ecSNymUd #Kiosk #POS #Retail #Supermarket #Shopping #Hospitality #Hotel #Business #Operations

Trusted Advisors Versus Talking Heads A few months ago, I sat down with a seasoned, multi-location #restauranteur in #TucsonArizona. She has owned restaurants for decades and while her restaurants continue to thrive, she knows her old #legacyPOS is on life-support, and #technology decisions need to be made. Often times the news we bring to the table comes with a price tag, a little work, and some realistic expectations. Admittedly it can be hard to compete with the talking heads. You know, the ones you’ve known for five minutes, become your best friend, sell you the world and then disappear. Well weeks before our meeting, a guy walked into one of her stores selling POS. He knew nothing about running a #restaurant, nothing about POS, nothing about building menus or optimizing workflows, pretty much nothing about the industry at all. He did know one thing though…that merchant processing can be extremely profitable and he could talk his way into a sale. Fast forward and she decided to try out this shiny, new, cloud-based POS at one of her sites. She didn’t even tell her IT guy she was switching, with whom she had worked with for years! She kept the new POS installed for a week and called her IT guy to RIP IT OUT and put her dinosaur POS back in place until she could figure out her next move. In that one week, her restaurant was turned upside down! Loyal customers were getting mad, employees on the verge of quitting, and you guessed, a sales rep who was nowhere to be found. No matter our tenure, expertise, and knowledge….We ALL need #trustedadvisors. The talking heads are experts at lip service, pressure sales and handing out “good deals”, but fall short on delivery and good ol’ fashioned honesty almost everytime. We have a long road ahead: This restaurateur has been burned, making it hard for her to trust the real industry experts. But slowly, gently, and respectfully, we are working with her and her team to evaluate solutions that she will truly benefit from. Think for a moment though and imagine the emotional and financial damage that could have been prevented, if only she looked to her trusted advisors for a little help navigating through these decisions.

Joanna Fantozzi Nation's Restaurant News tells what Doug Cook is up to with digital at Jack in the Box Del Taco. Will you mix n match, plug n play and build your own too with your tech? "When Jack in the Box chief technology officer Doug Cook joined the company in summer 2021, the San Diego-based chain’s technology investments were largely third-party “plug and play” partnerships. These days, Jack in the Box’s tech capabilities have become much more customized and sophisticated, with first- and third-party digital sales now comprising 12% of the company’s business. The hope, Cook said, is to get to 20% digital sales within the year. To get there, Cook and his team are deploying a hybrid tech stack solution to both the flagship brand and Del Taco, comprising of an internally built digital platform and a new POS partnership with cloud-based POS system, Qu POS. From there, the plan will be to modernize Jack in the Box’s tech stack, enable ease of omnichannel ordering, and unveil a new mobile app, which the in-house tech team is currently working on, alongside the digital technology platform.  “In so many ways, our technology plan is to own our tech capabilities moving forward,” Cook told Nation’s Restaurant News. “Prior to me joining the company, we were leveraging third parties and outsourced platforms, and now with our own internal capabilities and some trusted third-party engineering firms, we control our destiny. The plan to push into 20% digital sales is a really aggressive, but I think, achievable plan.” The debate between choosing a stack of the “best of” third-party tech vendors, aiming for a one-size-fits all approach with one or two primary tech partnerships, or building an in-house tech stack has intensified recently. While several years ago, the vast majority of restaurant companies did not have the resources or wherewithal to build their own custom tech platforms, now, that is changing. Wingstop Restaurants Inc., as one of the most prominent examples, discontinued its partnership with Olo this year to invest in a $50 million in-house proprietary technology platform. Other companies like sweetgreen and Restaurant Brands International are choosing to go in-house with at least some aspects of their tech stack as well...read more https://lnkd.in/eBpfcGiK #QSR #Entrepreneur #Restaurants #Franchise #Franchising #FranchiseChat Chainformation Altir Industries, Inc. Franchise Pipeline Franchise Development Outsource Ned Lyerly Joe Caruso Michael (Mike) Webster PhD Anders Hall Jonathan Martin Michael Scherr sweetgreen Darin Harris Jenifer Kern