WHAT THEY NEEDED:

A way to serve guests when dining rooms closed

Fresco’s is a small business, full-service casual restaurant operating two locations in Texas. Until the coronavirus pandemic hit, they had a thriving lunch and dinner operation that boasted fresh food, great service and the best tableside guacamole in the business. But they didn’t think much about online ordering or delivery, especially since third-party aggregators charged a 30% fee.

But then COVID-19 disruption happened, shutting their dining rooms, then reopening them…but only at 50% capacity—and with a whole new expectation of touchless service. Suddenly, their volume was cut in half and so were their profits. They needed to pivot quickly to offer online ordering, curbside pickup and delivery while providing touchless options for on-site dining.\

WHAT WE DELIVERED:‍

NCR Voyix Aloha Online Ordering

Already an NCR Voyix Aloha Essentials customer, Fresco’s turned to NCR to get set up with online ordering. Thanks to Aloha’s flexible architecture, we implemented fast and made it easy for Fresco’s to start taking 100% off-premise orders. And if there was a hiccup or a new need, Fresco’s owner Larry Folk knew he could count on an equally fast response from his NCR Voyix team.

Thanks to the flexibility of Aloha, Fresco’s could experiment with different menus and fulfilment options until they landed on the right mix. Customer experience is everything to the Fresco’s team, so they were pleased to be able to offer a streamlined menu of dishes that traveled well and made sure their brand promise and the best food made it to the customer every time.

‍WHAT HAPPENED NEXT:

Nonstop orders & happy customers

Online ordering went so well that, while 100% of customers used it during the pandemic shutdowns—many still prefer it. In fact, in the early days of reopening, customers used online ordering about 70% and dined on-site about 30%. As Fresco’s opens up their dining room for more capacity, online sales remain strong, still accounting for 50% of business.

It was such a success, in fact, that Fresco’s is considering eliminating their lunch operation to focus on a streamlined dinner service only, bolstered by online ordering operations. “Customer loyalty is important, so we’re going to give you our best,” Folk said. “We’re a simple independent, and Aloha is instrumental for us. I think I have everything Aloha has. And [our NCR Voyix team] are champions for us. They get us the tools to be successful.”

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