Online venture

Restaurants are investing in online ordering systems as a way to control costs and better serve customers. BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON

WHEN GOV’T TACO opened in October 2020, it was a no-brainer that the Mid City restaurant’s website would include an online function allowing customers to place their own to-go orders, says founder Jay Ducote.

“We’ve had the ability to do online ordering from the beginning,” Ducote says. “The technology has really caught up and has made it easier to integrate.”

Users find a red “order now” button on the site’s top right corner. They click on it, select their preferences, pay and tip with a credit card and wait for a confirmation email that tells them what time the order will be ready. Meanwhile at the restaurant, the order flows seamlessly into Gov’t Taco’s POS system. A ticket reading “online order” across the top is printed in the kitchen, signaling employees to process it as a to-go order.

“People still call in, but ordering online cuts down on human error because someone can see exactly what they’re ordering,” Ducote says. “It also keeps us from having to continuously staff a phone line.”

Even before the pandemic, off-premises dining sales were growing, triggering restaurants to adapt better systems to meet rising demand. The need to drive improvement in this part of the business was accelerated further by the arrival of third-party delivery services, which exploded onto the local scene about five years ago.

Now, the pandemic has forced the next phase of the off-premises operational trend. More restaurants are adding online ordering to their websites, often integrating this function into POS systems or third-party delivery aggregators.

“We have yet to run into a restaurant group that does not consider online ordering in some capacity,” says Lindsey Duga, director of accounts for Gatorworks, which has designed several Baton Rouge-area restaurant websites, including Gov’t Taco’s. “It has definitely been growing.”

Duga says online ordering serves two purposes. First, it gives restaurants better quality control over incoming to-go orders. Second, it gives customers a better experience when placing an order. They can take time to peruse a menu and order with confidence that their preferences and requests will be met, she says. For busy customers who like convenience, online ordering accounts make it possible to save preferences. Systems also help frequent visitors accumulate points through rewards programs. Both amenities help encourage repeat business, Duga says.

According to the National Restaurant Industry’s 2021 State of the Industry Report, 53% of adults say purchasing takeout or delivery food is essential to the way they live. The report also shows that 72% of customers like ordering from a place they can also visit in person, as opposed to a virtual kitchen space. And while takeaway will never replace the percentage sales of on-premises dining, operators are looking forward to a post-pandemic period in which dining rooms are once again full, while to-go sales are more robust due to user-friendly ordering platforms.

“Absolutely no question, to-go orders will continue to be a piece of the business,” says Bistro Byronz and Pizza Byronz operator Emelie Alton. “It’s all about how do you efficiently get orders in so that your staff can handle them, and how do you make sure your customer is having a good experience.”

Operator Ozzie Fernandez, whose concepts include Izzo’s, LIT Pizza, Rocca and Modesto, says that online orders currently represent anywhere from 10% to 30% of sales, depending on the restaurant. Fernandez began offering online ordering at Izzo’s in 2016 and has since added it to his other concepts. Orders are integrated into the restaurants’ POS systems. Employees are assigned to the to-go side, ensuring orders are filled accurately when they arrive in the kitchen. Customers pick up

NO-BRAINER: Bartender William Dellinger presents a to-go order at Gov’t Taco. which has incorporated an online ordering function on its website, allowing customers to place their own orders.

53

Percentage of adults who say purchasing takeout or delivery food is essential to the way they live, according to the National Restaurant Industry’s 2021 State of the Industry Report.

orders either inside the restaurant or curbside.

“The platform is very user friendly for us and the customer,” Fernandez says. “We can import any price changes across the platform, and it also includes our rewards programs.”

On-premises dining sales have historically been higher per ticket than off-premises sales because of the ability to sell alcohol. But during the pandemic, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council enabled restaurants to sell alcohol with to-go orders. The Metro Council extended that ordinance indefinitely in late April, enabling restaurants to sell beer, wine and mixed drinks for pickup and delivery. Spots like Gov’t Taco and Modesto have added bulk sizes of margaritas, a popular option for groups.

Moreover, even without alcohol, average ticket sizes of online orders seem to be increasing, Fernandez says. Issue Date: July 2021 Ad proof “We do see an increase in ticket #3 • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. size that I think comes from the • AD WILL RUN AS IS unless approval or final revisions ease of ordering,” he says. are received by the close of business today. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. If a restaurant’s POS system

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

doesn’t include an online ordering plug-in, it can integrate a separate platform like ChowNow into its website. That’s been the case with Bistro Byronz and Pizza Byronz, Alton says.

“For us, we were looking for the quickest way to integrate this ability into our operations,” Alton says. “It’s much easier for our staff than having to take a phone call. The order comes in electronically, and then we enter it into our POS system.”

Alton says the next step for her restaurants will be looking at ways to continue streamlining online and third-party delivery orders, including possibly using an aggregator like Hunger Rush or Orderly, systems that funnel different kinds of off-premises orders through a branded user experience.

One thing is for sure, Duga says, demand isn’t slowing down, and neither is the technology.

“There’s a lot for a restaurant to consider,” Duga says. “At the end of the day, it’s all about great design and finding the points of the user experience where they’re most likely to convert.”

This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2019. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329 TECHNOLOGY MATTERS: Incorporating online ordering systems, like what’s in place at Gov’t Taco, not only makes it easier for customers, research indicates restaurants that use the systems tend to get repeat business through reward or loyalty programs.

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