January 31, 2011
Food 2.0: How Startups are Changing The Restaurant Industry
Food service is typically not full of early adopters when it comes to technology. A restaurant owner's first question on seeing a new technology will usually be, "Who else is using it?"
That doesn't mean the industry can't be changed. Here are five ways that startups are shifting the way you interact with restaurants, whether you know it or not.
1. Better Ordering
Read the menu, choose a dish, tell the server. That's how ordering goes right now, and it's hard to imagine it getting much simpler. There are so many ways that the process could be improved, and these folks are leading the charge:
MenuPad - An iPad-based menu - see pictures of the dishes, read reviews about each, and look up nutritional information before ordering.
Exit41, GetQuik, Olo (formerly GoMobo): Order your food online, then pick it up (or have it delivered). How long before you're pre-ordering your meal in exchange for 20% off your check?
SmartCellar - See wine lists, reviews, and availability on an iPad right at the table; who needs a sommelier?
2. Smarter Checkout
Think about how many times you've been ready to leave, only to sit at the table either waiting for the server to bring you the bill, or waiting for them to return with it. Now imagine that never had to happen again, thanks to:
Lecere - Tableside order entry and payment processing would speed up the entire experience, which is worth a fortune in an industry where turning over tables 10% faster is a huge achievement.
TabbedOut - Ready to leave? See your tab at any time, close it out, and pay right from your table - on your mobile phone.
TableTop Media - A combination of MenuPad and Lecere, TTM offers guests the ability to browse menu items, view specials, and pay at the table.
3. Improved Interactions
Restaurants have long used the ubiquitous comment card to try to obtain feedback from customers, and more recently some have been tacking on a survey request to the bottom of guest checks. The success of these campaigns varies from "Not very" to "Not at all," which is why many restaurants are starting to turn to new companies like FourSquare, Gowalla, and these startups:
Textaurant - One of a number of companies trying to solve the problem of waiting list management at restaurants. Eliminate the ugly pagers and get a text when your table's almost ready - plus join the queue from anywhere (mobile phone or computer).
Survey on the Spot - Instead of asking you to fill out the survey later, businesses can offer instant surveys and get that feedback much more quickly.
SaveMyTable, VillageVines - While OpenTable owns the U.S. reservation market, some small-fries are taking them on, with various special features.
GoodEatsForMe - Social analytics for restaurants, allowing managers to see (in real-time) who their customers are and what they're saying about the service, food, and atmosphere.
4. Online Presence
Why should you care about a restaurant's website? If the site hasn't been changed since 2002 and features an animated .gif border, you probably shouldn't. But if that site makes it easier for you to find information, make a reservation, get directions, or even place an order, it's probably worth taking notice. And if there's a useful mobile component, all the better!
SinglePlatform - This offering allows restaurants to manage their complete digital presence in one place, including featuring their menus, specials, and events on their website, mobile optimized size, and social media pages.
Chompstack - A hosted platform for creating and managing mobile websites.
5. Going Green
When Kermit the Frog said, "It's not easy being green," he was ahead of his time. These startups are trying to make it just a bit less difficult:
Vegawatt - Allows restaurants to use their waste veg oil to generate electricity and hot water.
EcoMovement - Green consulting for businesses, including restaurants. Green isn't easy, so get help!
KangoGift - Why send a gift card which costs money to make and hurts the environment when you can simply text someone their gift and let them pick it up by showing their phone?
Just Desserts
Few people think about all that goes into running a full-service restaurant: from supply chain to servers, point of sale systems to paint colors, there are thousands of tiny details that a manager has to account for - each of which can make or break your experience. Technology can only improve some of these pieces, but with the startups above working on those, it's looking like the restaurant industry is about to become a lot more tech-savvy.
Josh Bob (@JoshSamBob) is the Founder and CEO of Textaurant. Recently selected as one of the first recipients of the 500 Startups Twilio Fund, Textaurant is changing the way people wait by allowing them to join restaurant queues virtually and wait online, not in line. Learn more and join the email list at Textaurant.com.