If you ask local diners why they should go to Charlton’s Grill & Tap in Johns Creek, Georgia, they’ll tell you it’s for the wings. The eatery is known for jumbo, crisp wings prepared with a variety of homemade sauces and rubs—and Charlton’s encourages diners to mix flavors to come up with creative combinations they love. The family-owned-and-operated restaurant, which opened its doors in 2016, also provides great customer service, supported by state-of-the-art technology—but management didn’t find it that way when they prepared for the restaurant opening.
The Challenge
When owner Bob Charlton purchased the restaurant, he discovered the point of sale (POS) system hasn’t been properly maintained. Charlton, the former executive VP of sales and marketing for a systems integrator, was familiar with POS systems, and quickly discovered that he has a problem. The POS system has never been upgraded—in fact, it was running four versions behind the current software—and the POS hardware and printers were outdated. The restaurant couldn’t alter the system at all to make it usable.
Charlton knew he needed a cloud-based POS system that he’d be able to access from a laptop or smartphone. He also needed a solution that allowed him to focus on his new restaurant, not on IT, but still easily manage changes and updates. Charlton’s Grill and Tap didn’t anticipate the issues it discovered with the existing POS system and printers. They wanted to easily enable online ordering, offer a loyalty program and printers that required zero IT support to print receipts and takeout orders. They has to work fast as they only has 3 days to implement a new POS system and thermal printers for the restaurant.
The Solution
Charlton originally contacted Matt Shaw from Postec, Inc. because he thought the Toast restaurant POS and management system would best suit the business’ needs. But after Shaw listened to what Charlton was looking for, he recommended a MobileBytes system and Star printers. Mobilebytes iPad POS provided Charlton’s with the anytime, anywhere cloud access it was looking for, and it made communicating and engaging with customers through the POS system easier. Charlton’s also chose Star SP700 and TSP650II printers, two for the front of the house and one in the back.
The new POS solution was also easy to roll out and simple to set up. The MobileBytes and Star system took less than two days to install and go live, setup took less than eight hours with the assistance of Postec, Inc. and staff training, including placing sample orders, took less than one hour, helping Charlton’s open its doors in less time than other POS systems could have.
When an order comes in, the order double prints—once for the kitchen to initiate food prep and once for the front of the house to prepare the take out order. The Skip-the-Line feature is provided through the MobileBytes app. When guests are within 90 feet of the restaurant, their phone will connect to the restaurant’s iBeacon and they will receive a notification through the app asking if they would like to “skip the line” and order ahead through the mobile app. Anyone dining in can order online with orders printing for the front and back of the house so they’ll be ready when guests arrive. Guests that want to have alcoholic beverages with their meals, however, have two separate checks, since alcohol can’t be ordered online. To compensate, the restaurant offers a free drink promotion to encourage online orders. Charlton’s also launched a loyalty program, supported by the MobileBytes app.
