“Our customers and staff are amazed (with Table Tracker). A lot of people haven’t seen the system in use before and are impressed by how it works and how the pagers communicate with the kitchen.”
Labriola Ristorante is a unique concept that began in Oak Brook, Illinois and is known for its delicious breads. The concept transformed from a baking company to a restaurant, bar and cafe when they opened their second location in Chicago in January, 2015. The new restaurant offers guests multiple experiences under one roof: a full-service Italian restaurant and bar, as well as a fast-casual cafe and bakery.
With the introduction of this fresh and new concept, operations manager Edwin Arreola wanted to take a different approach to food delivery than the usual table numbers that had been used in the Oakbrook location. With the new restaurant located right off the popular Magnificient Mile on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, it was averaging 150-200 guests during the breakfast and lunch rush. Arreola wanted to find a way to manage the rush and ensure food delivery and operations would run smoothly.
To accomplish this, Arreola implemented LRS’ Table Tracker into the Chicago location. Labriola Ristorante offers it’s fine
dining experience on one side of the restaurant, and a counter service, fast-casual cafe on the other side.
“It’s a different approach to make sure we aren’t roaming around looking for the table,” said Arreola. “It’s simple to use and we are all happy to have it.”
Initially, Arreola only installed Table Tracker on the cafe side where customers would order from the counter and wait for their food. However, he made the decision to install Table Tracker on both sides of the restaurant as well as the patio to handle any overflow from the cafe. He commends Table Tracker’s user-friendly technology which helps his staff deliver food faster and efficiently across all areas.
With Table Tracker, staff is able to locate the table and deliver food quicker. “It’s about making sure the food comes out on time and knowing exactly where it’s headed, which I think is the main purpose of having this system,” said Arreola.
Lunch delivery goals are between 10-12 minutes and dinner goals are between 15-18 minutes. With Table Tracker, Arreola is able to see how well his staff is meeting that goal on a daily basis. “It’s good to know what our numbers are doing on a daily, how we are doing on the weekdays versus weekends, breakfast compared to lunch, etc. It also helps us staff properly,” said Arreola. Labriola staff is able to meet its goals 95 percent of the time.
While Table Tracker was intended only for the cafe side of the restaurant, Arreola also installed the system for his bar and high tables on the fine dining side for times of overflow. Table Tracker’s discreet RFID technology gives Labriola the flexibility of operating in both a fine dining and casual setting without disrupting the customer experience.
Arreola reports that both employees and customers love the system and how easy it is to use. “Our customers and staff are amazed. A lot of people haven’t seen the system in use before and are impressed by how it works and how the pagers communicate with the kitchen,” said Arreola.
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