Category Archives: A-Restaurant

Restaurant Technology

Restaurants today rely on a variety of technology solutions to enhance their operations and improve guest experiences. The majority these days are cloud-based, which comes with its positives and negatives. Here are some essential types of restaurant technology:

  • Touchscreen Point of Sale (POS) Terminals: Modern POS systems with intuitive interfaces allow efficient order-taking, payment processing, and tracking. Some even have guest-facing screens for a seamless experience
  • Self-Order Kiosks: These interactive kiosks enable guests to place orders directly, reducing wait times and streamlining the ordering process
  • Kitchen Display Screens: These screens display incoming orders in the kitchen, helping chefs manage preparation efficiently and ensuring timely service
  • Printers for Restaurant: Printers are essential for generating order tickets, receipts, and kitchen chits
  • Cash Drawers: Secure storage for cash transactions at the point of sale
  • Integrated Online Ordering Solutions: Seamless integration with online platforms for delivery and takeout orders 1.
    Payroll Solutions: Streamline payroll management for restaurant staff
  • Scheduling Software: Efficiently manage employee schedules and shifts
  • Inventory Management Software: Helps track inventory levels, reduce waste, and optimize stock
  • Reservation Software: Facilitates table reservations and guest management
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Tools to manage customer data, loyalty programs, and feedback
  • Digital Menu Design Tools: Create visually appealing digital menus for guests
  • Online Ordering & Delivery Platforms: Enable online ordering and delivery services

Restaurant Accessibility is Win Win

Restaurant Accessibility Works for Customers and Business Nice point — An important first step for restaurants is to consider the ADA the baseline and the bare minimum, Knackstedt said. It may be a new way of thinking for some operators. But all operators, ultimately, have the same goal: to offer great hospitality to all. Here’s a summary of the key… Read More »

Clover POS – Restaurant ROI – 3 Examples

Restaurant Kiosk ROI with Clover POS Restaurant Kiosk ROI review of three different restaurant kiosk deployments and the return on investment numbers (and dollars) including cost savings. For full article and study click here. Summary Self-ordering kiosks in restaurants: This is a white paper that analyzes the financial benefits of using self-ordering kiosks in three different types of… Read More »

Lockers – Amazon Hub, USPS & Temperature Controlled

Lockers Amazon & USPS Pickup Lockers for parcel pickup and vending dispensing are surging in popularity.  Apartment complexes and more. Amazon is across the 7-Eleven chain.  One of the new ideas are custom solar-powered pickup lockers for residential consumers. Porch pirates are just one factor. We took a look at the space recently.  What drove us to do… Read More »

Legal News — McDonalds Sued for Improper Use of AI Biometric Data in Drive-Thru

Reported in Retail Automation June 2021 McDonalds AI Drive-Thru Ordering Violates Privacy Laws in Illinois and now headed to Court From EatThisNotThat Jun2021 – Editors Note:  You could see this coming given the test being run in Illinois which has some of the strictest privacy laws. In Brief: McDonalds testing AI-powered drive-thru ordering at 10 restaurants in Illinois Voice Analysis… Read More »

Facial Recognition – Steak N Shake, Sam’s Club and Amazon

Facial Recognition Turning Retail On Its Face Very nice writeup on Retail and Restaurant on facial recognition by Thibaud Denolle of ACRELEC America. You can contact Thibaud at his LinkedIn or by email. Summary of Facial Biometrics in Retail Technology Overview: Facial biometrics uses AI for identity verification via facial features. Real-World Applications: Brands like Steak n’ Shake… Read More »

Stats Smorgasboard – What We See

Stats – Restaurant, POS, Kiosks, Digital Signage We all like stats and numbers, too. Generally, though, any stats for any market are 95% of the time from India + they are automatically raised 10% from last year’s report + they want $5000 for them.  Generally all the wrong companies are listed, there are very pretty charts and graphs,… Read More »

Product Brief – POLYTOUCH Flex 21.5

POLYTOUCH Flex 21.5 Product Spotlight Our space-saving kiosk is a revolutionary solution designed to optimize limited space while providing a seamless self-service experience. It maximizes floor space, integrates easily without sacrificing seating capacity, and offers a user-friendly interface for effortless browsing, customization, and payment. The POLYTOUCH FLEX21.5 offers an array of different models, including the slimmed down FLEX21.5… Read More »

Kiosk Self Order – Clover

Kiosk Self Order with Ordering Kiosk Every week another case study for a restaurant going self-order hits my desk. While monsters like Chick-Fil-A do a test delivery site and suck all the oxygen out of the media, another small to medium business takes advantage of self-service done right. Hero Boy Sandwich in Georgia Hero Boy Sandwich Co. in… Read More »

Kiosk Solutions – Future Proofing Kiosks with Frank Olea

Kiosk Solutions – Frank Olea Interview Join host Kate Orara as she chats with Frank Olea, CEO of Olea Kiosks, about the future of self-service kiosk technology. Frank shares insights into implementing kiosk solutions that enhance customer engagement across industries like healthcare, hospitality, and entertainment, while offering strategies to future-proof systems against inevitable hardware and software changes. Listeners… Read More »

Restaurant POS Systems TOAST, Clover, Aloha, GRUBBRR

Restaurant Point of Sale Presentations We went to FSTEC this year in Dallas and some of the presentations are pretty interesting. Thanks to Olea Kiosks , Pyramid Computer and Nanonation Software for making this possible. Presentations Fourth Put Profit on the Menu AI for Restaurant Operations Deputy Maximize Profitability How to Leverage Technology to Prevent Expense Creep Incentivio Revolutionizing Restaurant Marketing… Read More »

Mobile Computer POS

Mobile Computer by Elo The M51 rugged mobile computer delivers a 6″ FHD scratch-resistant touch display, Android 14 OS, powerful Qualcomm 6490 octa-core processor, integrated NFC and optional 2D barcode scanner. Available in WiFi and cellular models – both offer IP68, front and rear cameras and warm-swappable batteries. Cool Video — John Lamb • Chief Marketing Officer at… Read More »

Steak N’ Shake Kiosks Violate BIPA

Facial Recognition has its Drawbacks in Kiosks From FindBiometrics. Here are the key points from the page: Lawsuit: Steak ‘n Shake is being sued for allegedly violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting and storing customers’ facial biometrics without proper consent. BIPA Amendment: A recent amendment to BIPA reduces potential liability for businesses by counting multiple… Read More »

Robot Restaurant CaliExpress

Robotic Restaurant Flippy Article by Nancy Luna on CaliExpress — she had done a couple of nice articles (here is minimum wage) Notes One employee to prepare food Nice to see Datacap technology in place. PopID uses that. We have several articles on PopID Interesting use of different height kiosks though the wheelchair height kiosk looks inaccessible via… Read More »

Five Payment Trends 2021 – Appetize

Payment Trends and Insights – Kiosk Industry Writeup by Appetize on the five payment trends to look for in 2021 There’s a silver lining to the unpredictability we experienced last year: 2020 accelerated the growth and advancement of the current payments landscape. In fact, the way operators set up their payment systems now will truly be a testament… Read More »

Outdoor Menu Boards – Peerless-AV EcoDigital Media (EDM) & Big Foot

Peerless–AV‘s Xtreme Outdoor Digital Menu Boards Contact Rachel Hinds (rachel [email protected]) at Peerless for more info! Peerless-AV‘s Xtreme Outdoor Digital Menu Boards were installed with EDM’s invigorating graphics to excite and engage customers in the BigFoot Java’s drive-thru. The new signage also provides the added benefit of easy maintenance, enabling menu updates to be done within the store.… Read More »

Stingray Kiosk and POS Terminal by Panasonic Connect at Murtec

Panasonic Connect Announces Stingray Kiosk and POS Terminals at Murtec From press release. Also there are pictures and photos from MURTEC 2024 on our Murtec Wrap Newark, N.J. | March 11, 2024 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time  Panasonic Connect North America will showcase its restaurant technology solutions, including its newest Stingray® JS9900 Kiosk Series and JS988 Point-of-Sale (POS) Terminals,… Read More »

LG InfoComm Awards

LG InfoComm Awards Here is LG Link LG BRINGS HOME RECORD-SETTING 15 INFOCOMM 2024 AWARDS FOR PRODUCT INNOVATION Broad range of recognition across product categories and channels underscores LG’s ability to provide customers with impactful real-world solutions  LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.. July 1, 2024 –– LG Business Solutions received a fifteen awards for product innovation at InfoComm 2024, setting a record for… Read More »

Analysis – Revel Systems Acquisition by Shift4

Brutal Analysis of Acquisition From Retail Systems Analysis of acquisition of Revel by Shift4 — From Reforming Retail. Excerpt Mistruth #1 Shift4 offers payments and other technology to a range of industries, including restaurants. Its restaurant POS system, SkyTab, is used by operators of many large chains, including Burger King, Applebee’s and Denny’s. Huh? Here’s how Shift4’s communications will… Read More »

Olo Restaurant News – Wisely Acquisition

Exposing Olo Part 3: Dropping 40% of Olo’s Enterprise Value into Wisely From retailsystems — Both McDonalds and Five Guys Burgers and Fries compete on a daily basis to offer the public hamburgers and fries. In 2014, McDonald’s spent more than $988 million on advertising. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, in the same year, spent exactly $0. Continuing… Read More »

Taco Bell Cantina Kiosks in Los Angeles

Taco Bell Cantina Kiosks Design elements marry old Hollywood architecture with Taco Bell’s modern Cantina experience – now open on Hollywood Boulevard Editors Note:  We are pretty sure the actual kiosks (seen in ABC video below) are by Elo. Elo does the NYC cantina.) IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Roll out the purple carpet, as Taco Bell has opened its doors to… Read More »

Swift Kiosk – Cost-Efficient Kiosk Machine

Are You Searching for a Cost-Efficient Kiosk for Self-Ordering with Complete Hardware Integration? Come see the Swift Kiosk at NRA in two weeks. Pyramid – best known for its diverse lineup of Self-Checkout/Self-Serve and Digital Signage solutions – is constantly striving for ‘what’s next’. It’s with that in mind that we are proud to announce our newest development: The POLYTOUCH SWIFT.… Read More »