When Andrew Simmons decided to buy a restaurant in January 2020, little did the long-time entrepreneur know that in just a few months, he would be forced to close his doors due to COVID.
But instead of giving up, he knew he had to get creative to survive. Survive he did, and when he reopened his doors, he kept tinkering, trying to figure out how new technology could make his restaurant more efficient.
Andrew’s been an open book during the process, open-sourcing his learning as he navigates his journey via posts on Linkedin and a blog. He shares what works and what doesn’t, providing a potential blueprint for other operators thinking about how technology could change their business.
During this podcast, Andrew and Mike talk about:
- How the installation of a pizza robot from Picnic completely changed how he does business
- How one piece of game-changing technology, like a pizza robot, forces other changes and adoption of new technology throughout the restaurant’s workflow
- The impact of new technology on his unit price for pizzas
- How analytics software helped him realize his dine-in business was not profitable and how it changed his thinking about how he ran his restaurant
- How he was forced to rethink how he used employees through the use of technology and how the employees (and former employees) have reacted
- His pizza subscription concept and how he believes it can help him pay for opening new restaurants
- Andrew’s plans to launch a 100-unit restaurant chain built using off-the-shelf restaurant technology
If you are considering using technology such as robotics for your restaurant, this episode is a must-listen! You can listen to the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or click play below.
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