How One Operator is Reinventing His Restaurant's Tech Stack
Andrew Simmons is an open book. When the long-time entrepreneur decided to buy a restaurant in 2020, little did he know that in just a few months he would be forced to close his doors due to COVID. But instead of giving up, he had to get creative and, after surviving the pandemic, he kept on tinkering, trying to figure out how new technology could make his restaurant more efficient. During this whole experience, Andrew has been documenting his journey via posts on Linkedin and on a blog. As he reinvents his restaurant through technology, he talks about what works and what doesn't, providing a potential blueprint for other operators who are thinking about how technology could change their business. During this podcast, Andrew and Mike talk about: How the installation of a pizza robot from Picnic completely changed how he does business How one piece of game-changing technology, like a pizza robot, forces other changes and adoption of new technology throughout the restaurant's work flow The impact of new technology on his unit price for pizzas How analytics software helped him realize his dine-in business was not profitable and how it changed his thinking about how he ran his restaurant How he was forced to rethink how he used employees through the use of technology and how the employees (and former employees) have reacted His pizza subscription concept and how he believes it can help him pay for opening new restaurants Andrew's plans to launch a 100 unit restaurant chain built using off-the-shelf restaurant technology If you are considering using technology such as robotics for your restaurant, this episode is a must-listen!