FSR March 2023

N E X TG EN CASUA L

then we’ll do that. If providing guests with more choices is what they want, then that’s something we can do.”

model, so that we can actually invest more in the people who are taking care of our customers in different ways, just by removing the remedial task of a waiter walking to tables and taking orders.” Investing more in people isn’t just talk for Law ton, who raised wages for staff—including the back of house—to anywhere starting from $19 up to $36 an hour after tips. While many restaurant executives complained of so-called lazy younger generations and not being able to find any work ers, one bartaco unit had a backlog of more than 2,000 job applications in the fall of 2022. “Their lives changed. Some stopped working two jobs and were able to spend more time with their kids, and there’s no going back from that,” Lawton says. “We’re super proud of the fact that a dishwasher at our company makes $55,000 to $65,000 working 40 hours. We created a living wage, which is a big part of NextGen. We gave people time back.” As the pandemic waned, bartaco found custom ers still craving human interaction and hospitality, which led them to creating a new manager posi tion. At a prototypical bartaco that seats about 180 customers, six service leaders divide up the dining room in zones, making sure touch points are happening and guests feel taken care of. And with 90 percent of customers ordering at tables on their mobile devices, the opportunity opened up to capture more data and continue customizing guest experiences. About an hour after dining at bartaco, guests receive a survey with five questions about their experience. If they fill it out, they receive a “taco token,” or a virtual free taco that goes into their virtual taco wallet, Lawton explains. That basically just means the next time they go to bartaco, they get a free taco. “It’s a thank you for giving us the feedback and encourages you to come back again, so we think it’s worth it,” he says. “We don’t want to use the data in a way that we feel annoying to custom ers, constantly poking them, getting them to do things. We want to figure out how we can let the digital relationships be a continuation of the rela tionship we have with them in the restaurants, which is very genuine.” bartaco receives a report each day that scores every service leader based on guest feedback—with as many as 200 responses from tables per day— which determines leader bonuses and allows the brand to aggregate data to see trends and new opportunities. After instituting the measuring tool in June 2022, customer sentiment increased

FINDING EFFICIENCIES, GIVING PEOPLE TIME BACK bartaco, a 26-unit upscale street taco and cock tail concept based in Arlington, Virginia, has always prided itself on a simple service model. In 2010 when the f irst restaurant opened, cus tomers ordered by filling out a paper card like a sushi order, since most consumers were ordering four to five small bites. When the pandemic required a more touch less ordering format, bartaco began playing around with a feature on Olo, a New York City based company that develops digital ordering and delivery programs for restaurants, to create a QR code menu. During bartaco’s busiest months in the spring and summer, peak patio season, restaurants would often have two-hour wait times. After implementing the new ordering method, the res taurant discovered food and drinks were moving signif icantly more quickly to tables, and guests appreciated the ability to continue ordering food whenever they wanted at the tap of a screen. And when tables turn faster and check averages go up, both customers and staff reap the rewards. “It really resonated with customers. They liked the idea of on-demand hospitality, which is what we call it,” says Scott Lawton, CEO and cofounder of bartaco. “It also gave us a really scalable labor

BARTACO’S QR CODE MENUS HAVE UNLOCKED LABOR EFFICIENCIES IN MYRIAD WAYS. 

 SCOTT LAWTON

BARTACO (3)

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INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUE

MARCH 2023