Case Studies

At Graze! Shared Kitchen in Toledo, Ohio, owner Rod Brant operates three restaurants under a single roof. This unique concept is growing in popularity as restaurant owners adapt to changing consumer preferences for take-out and delivery due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the Graze umbrella are three distinct offerings – Oasis Eats Mediterranean, Mozza Pizza and Wings, and Big Knuckle Burgers. Rod describes the delivery and take-out only model as the “new eat at home or office experience” with faster ordering, better service, and a wider variety of foods to choose from.

Rod got his start in the restaurant business offering marketing consulting services – helping other restaurants improve and grow, but always had the itch to become a restaurant owner of his own. He fulfilled that dream by purchasing Eat at Oasis in early 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Eat at Oasis had two dine-in locations about five miles apart, and Rod made the purchase with plans to change one location into the Graze! Shared Kitchen concept.

Hungry Howie’s, a nationally recognized carry out and delivery pizza chain based in Madison Heights, Michigan, is known for its Flavored Crust® and now for its loyalty program. Howie Rewards® is a simple, user-friendly program that automatically tracks participating purchases and rewards guests for every six qualifying online orders.

Howie’s launched the program mid-2016, after selecting HungerRush’s loyalty program Honeycomb. HungerRush’s development team and Hungry Howie’s technology team worked together to customize the loyalty program to fit their exact requirements. “Having HungerRush build the architecture of our loyalty program just made sense,” states Dan McKay, Director of IT. “They already provide our POS and Online Ordering, which means they understand our operational and customer interactions on all fronts.”

Honeycomb is a robust loyalty engine that tracks customer data above store, and provides updates to members via email based on qualifying actions or purchases across locations. The platform utilizes HungerRush online ordering as the customer facing portal minimizing customer credentials. “Our vision for Honeycomb is to provide a support structure that enables a consistent, brand unifying experience across platforms and locations,” states Laura Gaudin, Director of Product Management. Honeycomb provides staff with the perfect re-direction to any questions, allowing them to train consumers and direct them to the online ordering platform.

The Howie’s team has already seen major success with online only participation in 2017. Howie’s processed over 850,000 loyalty orders totaling over $15 million in net sales. The Howie’s team has given back over 147,000 medium two-topping pizzas to their guests. Howie Rewards® success is most evident in the redemption rate of 74%. “We knew the integration with online ordering would be huge,” states McKay. “We didn’t anticipate how much impact the loyalty interface in the online menu would be. Most loyalty platforms plateau at a 20% redemption rate because of manual redemption codes or incomplete integrations. With Honeycomb, we’ve tripled that benchmark in just the first year because of the online ordering and mobile application integration.”

The Funicello family of Norwalk – Pasquale, Joe, Maria, and Elvie Funicello – own and operate the full service fine dining establishment Tutti’s Ristorante located in Westport, Connecticut. They were all born in Southern Italy before moving to the Fairfield County Area and pride themselves on an authentically Italian experience that is about more than just food. They live by the motto “Good Food, Good Friends” and emphasize hearty portions and a family atmosphere. The open air kitchen allows you to watch the preparation of family-style meals, providing the sense that one is at home enjoying a home-cooked meal in a comfortable, cozy setting.

How long has your family been operating Tutti’s Ristorante?
12 years.

Was there a particular issue that led you to choosing an all-in-one POS system like HungerRush?
When I came into the family business, I really wanted to give my mom and dad some help because the restaurant was getting a lot busier. I wanted to increase our efficiency and customer service and a POS system seemed to me like a good way to do that.

Had you used a POS system prior to HungerRush, and if so, what can you tell us about the experience?
HungerRush is our first POS, and it’s been really great. Our lives are so much easier than before – it makes a huge difference.

You’ve been installed for about 4 months now. What positive effects have you already seen?
The organization that the POS offers is amazing. It keeps track of everything for us – orders, sales, inventory – so many other things, too. The increase in efficiency helps us do our jobs better and offer the best customer service possible. We’re also able to serve a lot more customers in a night because of the increase in efficiency. When everything is running very smoothly, it’s easy to have more customers coming in because everything is moving much faster. Because everything is so organized and streamlined, the customers’ experience is better, and they’re happier, too. We can do more business with our POS, while still offering really great customer service.

Businesswise, do you feel that modern technology, specifically an all-in-one solution such as HungerRush, is mandatory in today’s highly competitive restaurant industry?
I do think so, yes, because it improves customer service so much. Writing orders by hand can’t compare and the level of organization a POS provides makes everything so much better.

Do you believe that a POS system has a direct impact on a customer’s experience?
Definitely. I think when you’re doing a lot of business and having really busy nights, the POS makes the entire experience much more organized, efficient and detailed – for the customers and for us. Customers appreciate that things move much faster and they really like even the small things like the level of detail on a receipt.

You are a full-service restaurant and also looking to install HungerRush™ online ordering in the near future. Can you tell us about that?
Yes, we’re actually looking to do that sometime this summer. The restaurant is doing a lot more business and we want to increase that further. We really want to expand the Tutti’s brand and I think offering online ordering is definitely one way for us to do that.

What advice would you give to other restaurant owners/operators out there like yourself?
Organization is key to a successful restaurant and anything you can do to increase your efficiency is going to be good for your business. I highly recommend HungerRush if you want to achieve these things.

How long have you been in the food service industry, Patricia?
I’ve worked with Dairy Queen approximately 11 years now.

Was there a particular issue that led you to choosing an all-in-one POS system like HungerRush?
HungerRushs ability to process using multiple credit card processors and menu flexibility led our company to select the HungerRush all-in-one POS. We wanted to be able to eliminate the separate gift card terminal that was not communicating with our current POS.

Businesswise, do you feel that modern technology, specifically an all-in-one solution such as HungerRush, is mandatory in today’s highly competitive restaurant industry?
Modern technology is not mandatory in today’s restaurant industry, but it does enable a competitive edge against other restaurants that have not updated. A concern with modern technology is that it can increase your vulnerability against attacks. We wanted a solution that would update our equipment and provide some prevention methods against the vulnerabilities in today’s POS environment. In remote locations, modern technology is often a challenge that visiting customers don’t understand. Having reliable internet and telephone service can be a luxury there, while in metropolitan areas it’s expected.

Do you believe that a POS system has a direct impact on a customer’s experience?
A POS system can have a direct impact on the customer’s experience since it is usually the barrier between the customer and the products we sell. You could have a clean store, great food and if the POS cannot accept the customer’s order or method of payment, the customer will be unhappy and the sale is lost.

Speed of service is extremely important for Quick Service concepts – How does HungerRush assist in speeding up your operations?
HungerRush assists with speeding up our operations because it allows for different order types to be taken at all stations. For instance, cashiers can put in or retrieve drive thru orders on the counter registers to back up the drive thru cashier. Another feature that comes in handy is the ability to start new cash drawers while the manager balances the previous shift drawer. A manager does have to close a drawer before starting a new drawer, but when time allows the manager can go back and balance any closed drawers rather than holding up the new cashier at shift change.

Had you used a POS system prior to HungerRush, and if so, what can you tell us about the experience?
Prior to HungerRush we had a POS system that worked well for many years and was serviced locally. Our previous POS equipment and local vendor really set the bar high to find a solution that was going to fit all of our needs. When you’ve had something for many years you know all the ins and outs, the good and bad, and it’s difficult to leap towards something new. Although we are still learning about HungerRush early on and as of today it appears they have solutions for our POS needs.

If you were to name the best features within HungerRush, what would they be?
HungerRush’s best features for us have been customer service, menu flexibility, built-in features included with the POS software, buy-back program, data backup that maintains your stats in the system and enterprise to group and consolidate store information and broadcast menus.

Do you have personal opinions on PCI related issues? Do you think it is important in this day and age to protect sensitive customer data?
It’s extremely important in this day and age to protect sensitive customer and employee data. As the regulation within the credit card industry changes frequently we wanted a POS that would provide updates to match the needs of the credit card environment.

Flyers Pizza, a family owned and operated Ohio staple since 1976, plans to expand their market share by leveraging HungerRush Point of Sale’s technology and Software as a Service suite. Flyers Pizza was number 8 on the Pizza Today Top 100 Independent list in 2016 when they began exploring POS and online ordering options.

The Flyers team began their search because their previous POS was unable to support their next major market expansion – online ordering. “The interface was too archaic,” states Matt Ulrey, Director of IT. “Our old online ordering platform felt like it was made in the 90’s. It was a chore for customers. The Uncles (Owners) wanted a solution that would make online ordering fun and interactive. We needed a platform that would engage our customers from first-click to order completion.”

Enter HungerRush, a leader in custom point of sale solutions for the hospitality industry since 2003. Flyers installed HungerRush as part of the grand opening of their 8th location in southern Grove City Ohio in March 2017. Over the course of 2017, Flyers converted two additional locations to HungerRush. In the midst of transition, Flyers experienced immediate results, climbing from #8 to #6 on the Top 100 List, and increasing sales by 10.6%. Their Online sales in these three locations jumped from under 20% of total weekly volume, to over 30% by the end of 2017. “HungerRush is more than just a POS and Online Ordering provider,” states Mark Ulrey. “HungerRush is a partner. We’re working together on everything from suggestive selling to menu formatting and configuration to ensure our guests are happier and spend more during every experience.”

Flyers Pizza is utilizing HungerRush online ordering platform, Honeycomb loyalty service, and R-enterprise remote management. All three services interact and combine with the POS to enable the Flyers management team to respond to customer trends on-the-fly and provide a cohesively branded and unified experience across all locations. The combination of these services has set the stage for Flyers to expect a 30% increase in online sales by 2019.

Piu Bello is a family-owned business headed by Mehul Patel since 2016. Piu Bello serves their customers in three ways: Lunch and Dinner menu for both Dining Room and Carry-Out service, as well as Pizza Delivery. The concept features classic Italian dishes with modern American delivery fare for wings, mozzarella sticks, and chicken fingers.

When Mr. Patel originally purchased the restaurant, he knew that sales had been declining by 20% year-over-year. Soon after incorporating a HungerRush POS system and all its built-in tools, Mr. Patel was able to find that he was gaining back the 20% loss in sales by more effectively streamlining and monitoring his delivery process.

Mr. Patel assumed control of the business with the existing POS, Clover. He stated that all of his inventory, employee, and customer management needed to be done manually. “Clover might be ok for retail stores; it’s not going to work for my restaurant concept, which requires a lot of customization. Clover also has no way to calculate labor, unless you want to download a 3rd party app (for an extra charge). Many of those apps are also incapable of doing what I truly need.” The difficulty continued to inventory, “There’s no way for me to know when I need to reorder food, how much food I’m using per pizza, and for it to specify the quantity of toppings. The only thing Clover is good for is to take simple orders and charge cards.”

Over time, the manual workload began to overtake him, and that’s when he truly became motivated to find an all-encompassing solution. Through all of his research and due diligence, he found HungerRush. “HungerRush POS is the only system that gives me everything I need; an inventory system that can be customized, and (resources) that can help me build my menu quickly,” also, “coming through and install(ing) everything.”

After his onsite installation and training for his new HungerRush POS system, HungerRush (online ordering platform), and eye deliver (Real-time driver statistics for GPS tracking), Mr. Patel was able to identify that his delivery process was the best area to start improving.

With HungerRush he was able to limit the number of orders a driver could take based on the distance he needed to drive to complete the delivery. Now Piu Bello was able to establish the operation standard that would limit the number of pizza orders to be delivered by any one driver. Mr. Patel was also able to reconcile all of the manual inventory, employee, and customer management that had been plaguing him.

As a result, he found that he was gaining back the 20% loss in sales by more effectively streamlining and monitoring his delivery process, and the time savings from having more automated and integrated labor, customer, and inventory allow Mr. Patel to focus on his real priority – providing excellent service and food to Piu Bello’s guests. Mr. Patel conducted his own independent survey after implementing HungerRush and these changes. The results showed increased customer perception and satisfaction ratings of his business.

Today, the Piu Bello restaurant is operating more effectively, and Mr. Patel states that within his next month of operation, he will not only have corrected his monthly net loss but turned the delivery operation into a profit center. Mr. Patel is now a huge fan of the HungerRush system, and he ended by saying: “If HungerRush can do pizza, they can do anything in the restaurant industry!”

Saccone’s Pizza & Subs, based in Leander, Texas, produces award-winning pizza complete with house-made signature sauce.

When owner Dan Saccone opened his first location in 1997, he created his own point of sale (POS) system by outsourcing the coding and development to a friend. But as Saccone’s grew, Dan realized that if he wanted his restaurant to continue its upward growth trajectory, he needed to implement a modern, customizable POS system that is purposefully-built for pizzerias. 

Dan looked for a POS system that was easy to use and learn, built on a modern architecture, and had flexibility to support future technology enhancements.   

Saccone’s chose the HungerRush restaurant management system for its simple, intuitive design.  He was impressed by his waitstaff’s ability to learn the system quickly and be productive on the first day.  The customization available in the HungerRush POS system helps Saccone’s improve order accuracy and eliminate mistakes from handwritten tickets.  Saccone’s also implemented HungerRush’s online ordering system and began using third party delivery to service the restaurant’s growing customer base.   

For Saccone’s, selecting the HungerRush point of sale system has helped the restaurant grow and flourish, providing upgrades and integrations as technology advances to keep up with changing customer habits.   

Crush Taco is a fast casual concept based on contemporary cuisine.  Signature items include cornflake crusted shrimp, buffalo chicken and fish tacos.  Calling it a modern taco shop, owner Mo Assi describes his tacos as Texas-style with Latin influence – combining big flavors with shredded cheese, refried beans and fresh vegetables.   

Mo had an idea of what he wanted in a POS system based on ones he used in other restaurants. The POS system had to be easy for the staff to learn and use and he didn’t want anything to slow down Crush Taco’s ordering process or impact the customer experience.   

A reporting fanatic, Mo demanded a system that could provide detailed analysis of the sales, labor and product mix his restaurant was producing.  He also wanted a system that could embrace changing customer trends such as the movement of online ordering and third-party delivery services.  Crush Taco selected the HungerRush restaurant management system after receiving a demo and performing independent research. 

Now, Mo gets the detailed reports he need to keep tabs on the growing business and for strategic planning.  To keep up with a growing industry trend, Crush Taco has also expanded into online ordering and third-party delivery services.  With help from HungerRush, the restaurant built an online ordering platform as part of Crush’s website along with a custom-branded app for iOS and Android mobile devices.  

Four years after opening their doors, Crush Taco is flying high and Mo credits HungerRush as technology that has steered Crush Taco’s success.  The POS system has given Mo the visibility he requires to make good business decisions and has proven to be an adaptable platform that can scale and grow as Crush Taco builds its customer base. 

Flying Pie Pizzeria is a five-store chain in the Portland, Oregon area. Ty Dupuis, the owner, worked in or owned a pizza restaurant his entire life. After starting out at a local pizzeria in high school, Ty spent time working in a dough commissary for a 26-unit pizza franchise before landing a job at the neighborhood Flying Pie in 1988. After rising through the ranks, Ty negotiated a buyout agreement with the previous owners in 2000 and has since opened additional stores alongside ambitious employees. Today, Flying Pie is a family-focused pizzeria serving multi-generational families and local kid’s sports teams. It’s a place where families come to eat, relax, play board games and have fun.

In the small town of Rockmart, GA, sales are booming at Hometown Pizza and Grill. For owner Rick Smith, adding HungerRush has helped his restaurant attract new customers through online ordering while adding a level of accountability for his staff to the restaurant’s operations. Rick knows that even in a small town, customers have an abundance of restaurant choices. Hometown Pizza and Grill excels by serving the freshest ingredients, leveraging technology to grow and track sales, and showing a commitment to a never-ending focus on customer satisfaction.

Since implementing the HungerRush restaurant management system, Hometown Pizza and Grill has added online ordering and watched average ticket revenue grow by 60% over call-in orders. Rick has better visibility into his restaurant’s operations. Detailed reports and real-time analytics have helped him run a more efficient business, spot costly discrepancies and quickly take action to address problems.

For Hometown Pizza and Grill, HungerRush has provided the technology upgrade that was needed to keep the restaurant competitive. In an increasingly-crowded market, Hometown Pizza and Grill continues to attract new customers and grow revenue, while improving profit margins with a more efficient restaurant.

With no dine-in seating, The Slice Pizzeria caters to a delivery and take-out clientele in Hahira, GA and surrounding communities. Since taking over ownership of The Slice Pizzeria in late 2019, business partners, Estel Powell and Ashley Gilmer, have grown sales by over 25%.

When he purchased the restaurant, implementing a new POS system was on Estel’s list of priorities. The legacy point-of-sale system relied on a third-party online ordering solution that was cumbersome and lacked flexibility. After completing a system demo for HungerRush POS system with integrated HungerRush online ordering, Estel was impressed with the flexible purchasing options for the platform and liked the monthly Software as a Service (SaaS) model.

Estel moved quickly to on-board the comprehensive restaurant management system and set out to educate his customer base on the advantages of online ordering. The staff at The Slice Pizzeria quickly learned to use HungerRush’s Google Maps integration to coordinate deliveries during busy times. The reporting and analytics provided has helped to improve restaurant profitability.

With sales rapidly trending up, The Slice Pizzeria has set a goal to move every customer to online ordering. According to Estel, “Customers that are ordering online generate higher ticket sales, reduce order errors, free up staff to do other tasks, and reduce overall costs.”

Frank’s Pizza has been long regarded as a go-to spot in Houston for over 23 years. Located in the heart of the downtown historic district, the New York-style pizzeria has attracted many late-night crowds. in early 2018 owner Ed Love was growing frustrated with system configuration issues that were impacting the restaurant’s smooth-running operation. Specifically, a newly-introduced EMV chip-reading payment technology was slowing the customer checkout process.

After considering different POS systems, Frank’s decided to switch to Speedline which promised continued support for customers that wanted to swipe credit cards instead of using a chip reader. However, within a very short time, Ed discovered flaws with Speedline’s order entry and cash drawer reconciliation process that were slowing customer throughput. For Ed, anything that detracted from the customer experience is a showstopper.

After realizing that Speedline could not fulfill his needs, Ed contacted HungerRush about switching back. The HungerRush development team advised Ed that his challenges could be solved with custom configuration. With the switch back to the HungerRush POS software complete, Ed saw immediate operational improvements at Frank’s Pizza. The restaurant can now serve customers quickly and efficiently, easily processing two customers per minute on busy nights. With custom configuration Frank’s Pizza has streamlined operations and is providing a better experience for their guests.