r/restaurantowners

"We landed a corporate catering contract earlier this year and thought we had it figured out. Our chef would prep everything, we'd load up one of our guys in his personal car, and somehow it would all show up warm and intact.

It didn't. Twice.

Lost the client after the second botched drop. We've got more corporate leads in the pipeline and I'm not about to repeat that mistake. I need an actual courier service that handles catering runs, knows how to treat hot food and equipment with care, and shows up on time without me babysitting the whole thing.

Does anyone in the Denver restaurant space have someone they actually trust for this? Happy to hear what's worked and what hasn't."

looking for a 3 tier countertop display (acrylic is fine) for baked goods , but one that seals well to keep flies out

Anyone been thru this? Seller seems to think I'm also taking on his staff. It's a full LLC change, just met with the landlord to confirm they'll allow me to take over the lease with the sale. However owner brought up their employees?! I said I'm going to be starting fully new, but had to tiptoe around it a bit. I wanted to say "You are going out of business"

There's caveats tho. The employees are local, neighborhood folks. Said one lives 3 houses away. My fear is bad word of mouth gets around.

People seem to think their store and brand have value, when it doesn't. Place has only been open a year, and it just looks terrible. Plates, cookware & tables don't match, 3 different styles of wallpaper.

Hi guys,
I recently took over the Sushi restaurant over, from my parents in Germany. It is not like I don’t have any hospitality experience, but taking over and renovating everything, plus coming up with a new concept for the back kitchen ( not sushi) is kinda daring. I worked as a bartender/ service for 7 years
With some kitchen experience when I needed to fill in. I also took over some managerial task since our manager did kinda a bad job. We at the end face of renovating right now and want to open on the 2nd of June. Do you guys have any tips for me. I fear that I forgot to do plan in one or two steps. Since I need to basically take care of everything myself except renovation.

Thank you guys so much for any advice you give me.

Spent the last 12 months watching how AI voice agents perform in real restaurants. Independent restaurants, small groups, two larger multi-location brands across a few cities. Sharing observations because most of what is online about restaurant voice AI is vendor marketing, not what actually happens in the dining room.

What actually moves the needle for restaurants using it.

Off-hours and peak-hour call capture. Most independents miss 30-40% of inbound calls. Lunch rush and post-9pm are the worst windows. Operators who deploy AI for this typically see 15-25% more reservations booked just by answering calls that previously went to voicemail. This is the easiest win and usually the reason it pays for itself.

Reservation booking when integrated directly with the reservation system. Agent reads availability, books, sends confirmation, syncs to the host stand. For Resy and OpenTable, sub-account integration handles the data flow. No staff time on the phone for standard 2-top and 4-top bookings on a Tuesday.

FAQ handling. Hours, location, parking, dietary accommodations, dress code, group reservations, private event basics. Maybe 60-70% of inbound calls are these questions. AI handles them cleanly. Staff time freed up for actual operations.

After-hours reservation requests in writing. A WhatsApp or web chat that captures intent at 11pm and books for next Friday. Independent restaurants leave a lot of this volume on the table because nobody is there to answer at that hour.

What does not work yet.

Order accuracy on complex modifiers is the hardest problem in the space. No onions, sub the side, half and half, allergen substitutions. A wrong ticket at 7pm rush costs a remake, a comp, and a table that leaves angry. Vendors who claim their AI handles takeout orders flawlessly have either not deployed in real restaurants or they are lying. Menu drift, daily specials, items that get 86'd at 6pm, price moves on the fly — every one of these breaks a snapshot-tested agent unless the menu is wired in live.

Anything emotional or unusual still needs a human pickup. Lost item complaints. Allergic reaction follow-ups. Quality complaints. A well-built AI escalates these immediately. Trying to make AI handle them is a reputation risk not worth taking.

VIP guest recognition is still rough. A regular calls, says their name, expects to be remembered. Most voice AI today does not do this well unless it is wired into a customer database, and most restaurants do not have one structured for this.

The math behind why owners deploy it.

A missed reservation is roughly $80-300 in lost revenue depending on average ticket. At a busy independent missing 4 reservations a day during peak weeks, that is $10-30k a month in lost gross revenue walking out the door. Most operators do not run this number on themselves because the missed revenue is invisible - you cannot miss what you never knew was there.

What I have learned watching this for a year.

Voice quality matters less than people think. Order accuracy and POS write reliability matter more. A robotic but accurate agent beats a natural-sounding one that mangles the ticket every time.

Restaurants are the hardest vertical for voice AI because the error window is immediate. HVAC operators can fix a slightly wrong booking when they show up. Restaurants cannot fix a wrong ticket at 7pm rush. This forces the bar higher than any other vertical.

The successful deployments treat the agent as ops infrastructure, not as a customer service experiment. They train it on the menu the way they train a new host, they integrate it with the POS the way they integrate any other system, and they measure it against booked-reservation rate and modifier accuracy — not against how natural it sounds on a demo.

Curious what restaurant operators in this sub are seeing on phone work. What percentage of inbound calls do you think you miss during peak hours? And for those who have tried AI phones or are considering it, what was your biggest surprise — good or bad?

Opening a small coffee shop on a really exposed corner and launch is coming up fast so I need to sort out an outdoor setup asap. It’s not just a sidewalk sign, I need something that handles daily specials, shows the entrance clearly, and survives wind without getting messed up. I already tried a cheap board and it flipped over and got scratched. So never again lol. Another thing is that space is tight so everything outside has to stay clean and not look cluttered since it’s the first impression.

So far I looked at Printful, Signs and SignsLab but not sure if this is just a simple sign order or a full outdoor setup decision, main issue is finding something that holds up and still looks consistent out front. Appreciate the help!

We have a small mom and pop pizza restaurant and the flooring needs to be replaced. Any recommendations for economy minded flooring that is durable, easy to clean and slip resistant?

I was offered this and was told that the cost to the consumer is $12 flat thus we would be eating the tax on this. I'm in TX so with tax rate of 8.25% it means the actual cost sold is $11.09

Anyone actually use this service and noticed a change in revenue gained?

One of the fryers I have was leaking oil profusely from the drain pipe while hot (~300F) I wiped down the area, and cleaned it with a water boil with fryer cleaner (no leaks, ~200F). When I put oil back in and heated it up, the oil continued profusely leaking out.

I reached out to the company but never got a reply. Any ideas on what the issue is?

I’m working on starting a burger place, I have my menu all planned out, an operation plan, working capital. The one thing I am kind of blocked on is a food supplier. I know Sysco and US foods are out there, as is Costco business centers (kind of in my area. Any other suggestions? I appreciate the help in advance.

In California.

I am adding espresso to my shop to try to off set rent increases. I have vendor for beans and tea all set but they don't offer dry goods like cups and lids. Is Webstaurant the best? Any other suggestions. I don't need branded at this stage.

https://preview.redd.it/wkjpo1iggy1h1.png?width=2418&format=png&auto=webp&s=e641f5f9d3074a6d534a0ba9b41d9ce93adce07a

I just need to vent to people who will actually understand how soul-crushing this is.

For the past few months, or maybe more than a year, my wife and I have been working with someone in a restaurant. For the context, my wife is 50% owner of the restaurant.

We also have full time jobs and I am actually working as a senior devops.

ever since we got involve, yes we did all what we can do to save it, and it has been steadily growing and stabilizing in revenue.

Now, fast forward now, we are opening in second location. It means what we are doing is ok. product is good, somehow system is good.

Because I want my wife’s investment to succeed, I poured my soul into building them a digital engine/systems. I’m talking:

proper POS implementation.

proper IT systems like Google Workspace.

Integration with a high-end inventory management SaaS to track granular recipe cost and automate ordering.

A properly structured Notion knowledge base with automated checklists for staff training, prep lists, and operations so the new location could run flawlessly.

I kept on telling them to streamline and systematize everything instead of relying to their heads for everyday operations. Their response?

They looked at the monthly SaaS bill (which was tiny compared to their physical and time overhead) and panicked.

They told me, literally to my face: "We aren't an IT company, we don't need this." They are canceling the inventory software and refusing to use the centralized training databases. They want to run a multi-unit expansion using WhatsApp groups and paper checklists, relying entirely on old-school "gut feeling" restaurant management. They even scrutinize why we pay for Google workspace.

If this was just a normal client, I’d charge my consulting fee, or even don't work for them at all. But because my wife’s capital is tied up in this, I’m caught in it. She is exhausted from fighting with the old-school partners over construction and legalities that she just told me, "If I lose the money, it's my own fault, I won't blame anyone."

I built a system that prevents fires, and because there are no fires yet, they think the system is useless....

I even propose to them to properly clean the books, properly hire people (because we are kinda overworked and I know margin is thin), properly invest on machines, properly document everything and properly protect the brand. (they've just finally approved registering trademark 2 months ago)....

I am literally telling them that we need a proper business foundation if we want to grow and make this company valuable.

Customers like our food, we are consistent, I got to admit I am bad with human resources and decision making so I leave it to them but what I am good at, backend stuff, invisible things that they don't see.

I am just frustrated since I have been working to build everything for free, but they just told me they are overwhelmed with what I am doing.....

Am I wrong? am I too much? all I want is that the business runs by itself instead of us being business operator all the time.

We have a dual/split panini press

Half works great, but the other half EVERYTHING sticks to. Like spiderman hands. Comically.

Any ideas on what to apply/treat the heating surfaces with to help out?

My supplier used to have a quick release that worked decently- but that side of the press was always worse and the supplier no longer has the "meh" product

I own a restaurant doing about $1.5M annually and our marketing is all over the place. We spend money on Facebook ads sometimes, Google Ads sometimes, email marketing when we remember. No real strategy.

The problem is I have no idea if any of it actually drives customers through the door. I can't tie marketing spend to covers or reservations. 

And I honestly don't have time to figure it out myself between running the restaurant.

Should we hire someone to manage it or build it in-house? And how do you measure if it's worth the investment?

Hi all, for those who shop at Restaurant Depot, do you know if they have commercial appliances that can be purchased in-person? My commercial fryer failed on me today and am a bit panicked right now and really need to be able to get one in person rather than buying online and having to wait for it to be delivered.

I have been lucky enough to eat from Restaurants every meal for the last ten years. Thank you owners.

Occasionally I make eggs. I make dinner once a week or twice at most.

We travel often and use to eat in or get takeout. Then we transition to Door Dash. It's $5,000+ a month on there.

We order quick serve, upscale and fancy meals.

So owners I really have to tell you:

When you don't allow comments on the Door Dash you shoot yourself in the foot.

I was going to write in my comment box "no chia seeds" for my acai bowl but there was no button.

So I just deleted the thing and moved on. That's $70 in other food and coffee they won't get. Certainly a $9 coffee would have been worth it?

Another restaurant sells guacamole for $12 for a 6 Oz serving.

I only want to pay $5 for 2 Oz or less.

So that guy loses $50 and I dine in/order Mexican elsewhere.

In your restaurant the radio music is either too loud or poor sound selection.

We like comfy booths and you only have wooden chairs.

One restaurant was always packed and they offered cheese queso sauce with chips in addition to salsa.

Often we stop coming to your restaurant because of a steak difference. We use to get Ruth Chris every Sunday night and they eliminated the 12 Oz Ribeye. Now they only offer the 16 oz which isn't as good for some reason. So there goes $1000 a month for them from us.

Another issue is live music. Some of them we would pay to shut up. Your musician might be repelling customers.

It's small details like not offering hot tea. So many restaurants say there are no warm drinks. Ok well then you lost thousands because we are not buying booze and not coming back.

The biggest is your water. Your dishwasher leaves a chemical residue and makes your ice water taste horrible. We taste it in the ice tea also. Often we won't come back because you don't offer bottled water.

Many of us don't want your sugary drinks. Your Air conditioning is good for staff but miserable for us. If we are too cold we won't come back. If people are having their coats and sweaters on take notice.

Anyways you should also do extensive taste testing. I have had some lousy meals that you think taste good but don't.

You can call me fussy but I represent all the people that don't give you repeat business.

We have a dual/split panini press

Half works great, but the other half EVERYTHING sticks to. Like spiderman hands. Comically.

Any ideas on what to apply/treat the heating surfaces with to help out?

My supplier used to have a quick release that worked decently- but that side of the press was always worse and the supplier no longer has the "meh" product

Hi I would like to get your guys input on a potential pizzeria/restaurant purchase. Current owner has been there 7 years. He wants to get 110k for it and he says current sales are 5-6k a week and closed on Sundays. Rent is around 2500 a month and LL is offering a 3 year lease. It is family run including his wife and kids.I currently have background managing a high volume pizzeria/restaurant so I'm very familiar with the business.

What’s an average price to rent a Kitchen in my music venue / bar? All of the equipment is there. It’s a new concept/menu we’re trying. Is $500 a month fair? $1,000?